


Mrs Harrison's

by WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020), Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, College, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mrs Harrison owns a coffee shop, Multi, Slow Burn, yeah hopefully if i get my shit together it should be a long one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 69,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28572750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter/pseuds/WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter
Summary: Love isn't always kisses, proposals, and big romantic gestures. Sometimes? It comes in the form of free coffee, just when you need it.When Julie's boyfriend breaks things off unexpectedly, she finds herself outside the coffee shop where her friend works. Only, Flynn is nowhere to be found, but her friendly coworker is more than happy to let her inside to shelter from the rain and order a cab.She had no idea how much Mrs Harrison's coffee shop would impact her life. But... here we are.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 281
Kudos: 489





	1. He's Just Not That Into Brew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yes, the chapter title is a coffee pun on 'he's just not that into you'.

There’s big days out where everything is planned and organised, and you’ve been looking forward to it for months. 

And then there’s almost-proposals, breakups, and screaming at trash cans in the middle of nowhere. 

Apparently, that was Julie’s life. 

After being psyched up by her two best friends, Willie and Flynn, that her boyfriend was going to propose, tonight hadn’t exactly gone to plan. She’d only sort of agreed to the idea, even though getting married in her twenties wasn’t exactly her idea of where she’d be after high school. Then again, Isaac and her had been dating for quite a few years, and they were going to move in together after she finished her music degree. _They were in love_ , why not?

What a load of shit. 

_“Oooh, Jules! You need to dress up!” Flynn pushed a dress into her arms, and then another, and another, while Willie rounded up boxes after boxes of shoes._

_“Look! These ones are shiny! How much do you want to bet they match the ring?”_

The entire shopping trip had been full-on. She had to admit, it had been fun, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea. So of course, praying for the best, she dressed up in a nice new dress, did her hair, and spent an over-the-top amount of time on her eyeliner. 

Flynn <3  
  
leaving in 5 to meet isaac and the cab downstairs :)  
  
still think it's weird asf that you guys don't live together  
  
we've been over this!  
  
my apartment's closer to campus, and his is closer to his job  
  
it's just practical for now  
  
damn, girl, you gonna be living separately when you're married??  
  
jk, super happy for you jules!!  
  
and yes, i agree to be maid of honour at your wedding :)  
  
going down now, thanks for the help!  
  
and ofc you're my maid of honour ;)  
  


She took one final look in the bathroom mirror before adjusting one of the clips in her hair and making her way down the stairs. It was cold, and a slight fog clung to the air, causing Julie to pull her jacket around her dress tighter, thankful she had decided to bring it. Outside, her boyfriend was waiting and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, her stomach filled with butterflies so restless she thought they might burst out of her ribcage at any minute.

“Hey babe, you look beautiful,” Isaac said with a smile, rubbing his arm.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she joked.

The nervous laughter turned into silence as Julie found herself awestruck. The limousine arrived, stretching out further than necessary for just the two of them. The driver got out and opened the door for them, helping Julie inside as she slid into the seat and took it all in. “Wow, but… what’s the occasion?” 

Her boyfriend smiled, his poker face almost perfect. “Can’t I just treat my girl for once?”

The limo ride was mostly silent, and Julie was once again lost for words when they stepped out in front of a glamorous restaurant. _Why else would we be here unless it was for him to propose?_ She thought, taking deep breaths as she followed the waitress to the table. _Flynn and Willie were right._

 _It’s fine, everything is fine_. Sure this was going to be a large change, but she was ready to marry Isaac and she was excited for the future. The only struggle was getting through the suspense in the lead-up to the proposal. Raising the menu in front of her face, Julie scanned it for anything she might like, simultaneously taking in the small details around her. The waitress’ name was Amelia. The candle on the next table over was red, where this one was white. There was jazz music playing in the background. Focus on that, and she’d be fine. 

An hour later, and awaiting dessert— there seemed to be a chocolate lava cake on the menu with Julie’s name on it— it appeared as if Isaac was ready to finally make his move.

“Julie, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you…” He pulled his shirt collar slightly, giving himself a little room to breathe. 

_“Tell you… Ask you… same thing. Sorry if this is weird, I’ve not done it before. Julie, will you marry me?”_

Julie was torn instantly from the fantasy she thought she was living. In her mind, he was down on one knee, a ring box held up towards her and she found herself nodding a yes to fantasy!Isaac.

“Julie… We need to break up.” Actual!Isaac, however, had other ideas on what he wanted to do with their relationship. “There just isn’t really a spark anymore. I don’t think I can do it. I tried, I really tried. I guess I don’t feel the same way about you that I did when we started dating three years ago. Sorry. What do you want for dessert?” 

“What?” The word barely came out, she was too shocked to think straight.

“What do you want for dessert?”

“ _What?_ ”

Those overactive butterflies in her stomach? They just got a hell of a lot worse. _I’m gonna hurl,_ Julie glanced around to find the exit.

“I said—” 

“I know what you said, _Isaac_. No thanks, I’ve lost my appetite.” Julie stood up, ignoring the unholy sound made by the chair against the wooden floor as she did so. 

“Julie?” 

She wasn’t paying attention to him. Julie’s focus was on one thing, and that was the door. All she had to do was get to the door without making a scene, making a fool of herself. Get some air, and she’d be fine. 

“ _Julie?_ ”

Breathe. Walk. _Breathe. Walk. Come on._

“Julie?”

“I’m just…” The first tear fell, rolling down her cheek and leaving a single track in her makeup— not the eyeliner though, that shit was _high_ quality. “Getting some air.” By the time she got to the door, her eyes were practically like Niagara falls and she didn’t have any tissues. On her way out, she caught the waitress who had initially led them to the table— _Amelia_ — by the arm as she came out of the kitchen. Another deep breath, and Julie was able to speak, but the words came out low and her voice raspy from the pent-up sobs that were about to be let loose. “Could you please tell the man I was dining with that I will not be returning? Thank you.” 

The moment she was back out in the cold and misty autumn air, Julie pulled her jacket around her tighter, regretting the large slit in the side of her yellow dress as the heat escaped from her body. Cursing, she ran towards the bus stop, only to realise she hadn’t brought any money. 

_Stupid Isaac with his stupid money and his stupid “I’ll pay for dinner and drop you home, it’s my turn, it’s my treat.”_

It’s fine. _I’ll just call a cab. Or at least charge my phone and_ then _call a cab_. Julie groaned at her own stupidity. Too busy texting Flynn earlier to charge it. _Idiot_. Distracted by her inner monologue, Julie barely realised that the mist had turned to rain and she had continued to walk straight past the bus stop until she walked into the trash can, almost falling over. Even though she managed to steady herself and not fall, the emotions running through her were too overwhelming and she kicked the trash can over instead, leaving pieces of litter fluttering about the sidewalk.

“ _Stupid_.” She whispered to herself. Already feeling bad about the mess, she sank down onto my knees and attempted to herd some of the empty takeout cups back into the bin and put it upright. 

“You alright over there?” Julie looked up at the voice, surprised to find a man in his mid-twenties or so standing outside the coffee shop behind her, keys in hand. His face was obscured slightly by the “Mrs Harrison’s Coffee” visor he wore, and as the rain began to fall harder he put the keys back in the lock and opened the door, holding it open. “I _was_ locking up, but you look like you need to dry off for a bit. I can call you a cab if you want?”

“You know what? That would be nice after the night I’ve had. Glad to see that there are still decent people in this city of assholes.” As she stood up, Julie brushed the fragments of garbage from her dress, now ruined, and followed him inside.

The guy was already laughing at the remark she made. “How do you know I’m a decent person? For all you know, I could be about to kidnap you,” he joked, grinning.

“If you were about to kidnap me, you wouldn’t have just told me.” Julie found herself smiling back at his dorkiness, “Could I borrow your phone? Mine’s dead.” She took a seat at the counter as the guy turned the lights on, the cosy area flickering into the view. Even empty, the place was somehow welcoming, and she could tell that during the day it had a nice atmosphere.

The Coffee-Guy smiled, “Welcome to Mrs Harrison’s. Best service in the city. Notice I don’t say best _coffee_ , I say best _service_. The coffee is average, the people are better.”

Julie rolled her eyes at the introduction, biting her lip and smiling. “Believe it or not, I’ve actually heard of this place. However tucked away it might be, my friend mentioned getting a job here recently I think. Weird coincidence that I’m here now.”

“Mrs H doesn’t believe in coincidence, she believes in fate.” He mimed a melodramatic faint, almost falling into the espresso machine behind him. “She’s the owner, if you haven’t already guessed. She’s also probably about the nicest person I’ve ever met.” 

“She sounds cool.”

“The _coolest_. Started this place up from scratch a couple years ago. Your friend— is it Flynn? She’s new, and I thought I recognised you from somewhere when the lights turned on, you and some long-haired skater guy are on her lockscreen I think?”

“Sounds about right, that’d be our other best friend— Willie.” Julie smiled, knowing exactly which photo he was referring to and remembering the memory captured with it. She wiped underneath her still-damp eyes, simply not giving a fuck at this point if she smudged the rest of her makeup. When she looked up again, Coffee-Guy was holding out a takeout cup with a smiley face drawn on the side. 

She was taken aback, remembering her current lack of cash. “I can’t take that— I’ve not got any money on me.” Julie shook her head, and pushed the drink gently back towards him.

“Then it’s on the house,” he rolled his eyes, smiling. “You can’t refuse a free drink, it’s impolite. A free cab too, once you’ve called it.” He handed her the phone and drink, and this time they were accepted gratefully. “You can pay me back another time if you _really_ want to. After all, you know where I work.”

Julie bit her lip and sighed, “Thank you.” Once she was holding the cup in her cold hands, the hot liquid inside slowly began to warm her up. “This is insanely good, what’s in it?” 

“It’s from the secret menu,” he whispered, “but you didn’t hear that from me. It’s a new drink I’ve been working on, the ‘Butterscotch Latte’, you’re the first to try it.” 

She nodded at him again in thanks, “Okay, this is amazing. Definitely coming back now. 100%.” 

He laughed, “Well I’m looking forward to seeing you here again, you ready to call that cab? Also before you do, where the hell did you get that eyeliner? Is it industrial strength or something? Reg would murder me if I didn’t find out.” 

Once she got back to the apartment, Julie kicked off her heels and changed into sweats. Flopping down onto the bed, she finally had a chance to plug her phone in beside her. The takeout cup was perched on her dresser, empty, but she didn’t feel like throwing it away. But that might have just been because of how extremely _exhausted_ she was.

Completely and utterly exhausted. To be fair, after the day she’d had that was probably standard. The phone blinked into life and Julie made a list before falling asleep.

_Tomorrow:_

> _Pick up stuff from Isaac’s ASAP - the longer you wait the more awkward it will be._
> 
> _Tell Flynn and Willie about the breakup, bring Flynn to Isaac’s to grab the stuff._
> 
> _Make sure Flynn doesn’t murder Isaac._
> 
> _Get another butterscotch latte._

On the bright side, at least Coffee-Guy, _dammit— who’s name she forgot to ask_ — seemed cool. If he worked with Flynn, then she’d probably be seeing a lot of him in the future, which wasn’t a bad thing. He seems to be like a good potential future friend. 

And the butterscotch latte? Faith in humanity _restored_.


	2. Don't Worry, Be Frappé

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and Flynn brave Isaac's apartment to get Julie's stuff back and Flynn attempts to cheer her up through some music and new friends.
> 
> the chapter title changed from hey siri, google 'how to get over a breakup' >>> 'don't worry, be frappé' because i discovered coffee puns and ran with them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am i obsessed with shut up and dance? yes  
> will i ever stop using it in fics? no

The next morning, Julie threw on her favourite pair of black overalls, a tee with the outline of an NYC skyline, and made her way back to Mrs Harrison’s to repay Coffee-Guy, find out his actual name, and tell Flynn about the breakup. All of this after an awkward encounter with her elderly neighbour Dottie about whether Julie’s ‘nice friend’ (read: her _ex_ ) could come round and change a light bulb in her bedroom. He fixed Dottie’s door _once_ as a favour, and ever since she’s continued to ask him to help her with more and more problems with her apartment. Anyone would think the old woman was actually interested in him.

She pushed open the glass door of Mrs Harrison’s and was instantly waved over by Flynn from behind the cash register. As soon as she finished with her current customer, Flynn ran around from behind the counter to envelope Julie in a bone-crushing hug. Small but mighty, Flynn was known amongst her friends for giving the best hugs.

“Shit, Jules. You must be _devastated_.” 

“Flynn, I need to breathe.” Julie mumbled, waiting for her best friend to release her. “And how did you know?”

“You weren’t smiling when you walked in, you looked tired— no offence, boo— and there is no ring on your finger. That, and I got a text last night from Luke telling me my friend dropped by and I should probably check in with her.”

 _Luke? Of course, that must be Coffee-Guy’s real name._ “Yeah, I somehow ended up here after dinner, I sorta ran out when Isaac broke up with me.” 

“Shit? I just thought he didn’t propose, but he _broke up with you?_ Do I need to initiate Plan E?” Flynn pulled out her phone and began typing furiously.

“Flynn, chill. I’m gonna be okay, you don’t need to _murder_ him.” Julie lowered her friend’s phone and let herself be pulled into another hug.

Flynn whispered in her ear, “I wouldn’t murder him _personally_ , but there’s a lot of broke people on the dark web with a lot of free time…” 

Rolling her eyes, Julie replied, “You literally wanted me to marry him less than 24 hours ago.” 

“A lot can change in 24 hours. Do I _need_ to remind you of _The Dance Incident_ in our second year of high school?” Flynn raised an eyebrow, her point proven as she flicked her braids over her shoulder.

Shuddering at the memory, Julie laughed. “Fair enough.” _Never again_. “I need to get some of my stuff from Isaac’s today… could you come?”

“Look, I can clock off in twenty if you wanna sit for a bit? I’ll let Mrs H know and finish slightly early. I’ll serve a few more customers and the latest we’ll leave is when Carrie turns up for her shift. Wait— ” Flynn positioned her friend on one of the stools by the cash register— “Here. Wait here.”

She disappeared into what Julie assumed was the breakroom, and she pulled out her phone. Zero texts. _Damn, someone’s popular this morning_. She took her earphones out of her jeans pocket and plugged them in, letting the world dissolve around her until the rest of Mrs Harrison’s was a muffled blur. Instantly skipping _All of Me_ by John Legend— probably not the best choice right now— the next song in the playlist was _Hustle_ by P!nk, which was kind of fitting.

_I live my life like a bullet in a gun_

_Give you all my love till my patience is done_

_Oh no_

_Don’t try to hustle me._

☕☕☕

As soon as Flynn had finished her shift, and a kind of scary-looking woman in a bright pink leather jacket came in to take over, the two friends got the bus to the slightly nicer part of town, where Isaac’s apartment was. It was considerably nicer than Julie’s neighbourhood, to say the least. To put it plainly, the men in the apartment above her have routine distance peeing competitions off their balcony at two in the morning. Isaac’s neighbours can afford to make paper aeroplanes out of their banknotes.

He lived on the sixth floor, with a nicer view than Julie could ever hope to afford— which became instantly apparent the moment they stepped out of the elevator. 

“How have I never been here? This place makes me want to steal toiletries, it’s like a hotel.” Flynn whistled, raising an eyebrow at her reflection in the doorbell. 

“Maybe it’s better if I do the talking. You’re here for moral support.” Julie hushed her friend and knocked, ignoring the pristine doorbell inches away from her knuckle. 

Isaac answered the door, momentarily forgetting to function like an actual human being. “It’s you… Julie… hello… what—”

“We came to get her shit,” Flynn cut him off, ignoring the glare directed at her from Julie. “If you don’t mind.”

Before he had a chance to step aside, she had already walked into his apartment, giving him no other choice than to invite Julie in too. “Wait here… I’ll be right back with the box.” Isaac walked into the bedroom and began making noise, presumably packing the stuff together. Opposite the bedroom a door shut loudly, making Julie jump and Flynn wince. 

A tall woman with beautiful shiny dark hair rounded the corner, scaring both girls at her sudden appearance. Once Julie acknowledged her existence, she realised what she was wearing. A bathrobe. _Isaac’s fucking monogrammed_ _bathrobe_. _Kill me now_ , she thought, her hands clenched into fists in jealousy. What, he couldn’t even wait 24 hours? 

“OH, we have guests. I’ll leave you to it.” The woman slowly turned and backed away into the bedroom, her gaze never wavering. “Nice to meet you.” 

The only thing stopping Julie’s emotions from boiling over was the fact that next to her Flynn was practically vibrating with anger.

“Flynn, calm.” She whispered, lowering her friend’s unconsciously raised fist. “Not now.” 

She took a deep breath, her glare never moving from the door that Isaac had vanished through moments earlier and once he reappeared it followed him. He handed Julie a small box of things and shrugged, nervously rubbing his arm. “That’s it I think.”

“Right. Well. That’s it.” Julie was at a loss for words. “I should go. I’m going to… fix… Dottie’s light bulb. Because I definitely volunteered to do that. Bye.” Without breaking eye contact, she edged out into the hallway. The moment she was out of earshot, pressing the button for the elevator, Flynn took three steps forwards and drew herself up to her full height, just about reaching his chin. 

“Listen here. I don’t care what you do with your life from this point onwards, but if you hurt my best friend again, _I will break you_.” With a sigh, she spun on her heel and walked towards the door, only pausing once to pick up and place in her pocket three small ornate pebbles from the collection on the bookshelf. She patted the jacket pocket with them resting inside before muttering, “For _collateral_ ,” and nudging the door shut with her foot behind her. 

The ride in the elevator was quiet, only punctuated by the sound of the chime as the doors slid open on the second floor, and the awkward shuffling as another resident rode the rest of the way down with them. Once the two girls were back on the bus to the city center, Flynn finally spoke. “We need to cheer you up. Like, pronto.” 

“It’s barely been a full day and he’s already sleeping with someone. How is that possible? Do you think they were seeing each other when we were still together?” 

“Girl, enough of this shit. You, me, Willie. Eats and Beats. Tonight.” Flynn pulled out her phone and shot off a quick text to Willie. “We are going to party, we are going to drink, and we are going to look damn good doing it. Deal?”

Julie sighed, once Flynn had made her mind up on something there wasn’t much that could be done to convince her otherwise. “Fine,” she sulked, still trying to process what she had just seen. “But I’d like to sleep and/or cry for like… twenty-five years first.”

“Not an option, come on— we’re walking the rest of the way.” Abruptly Flynn stood up and pulled Julie up with her, “Fresh air, sunshine, and me. Three of the five key elements needed in cheering you up.” 

“Dare I ask what the other two are?”

 _“You are my fire…”_ Flynn was already singing, dragging her friend down the street. 

Julie sighed, “Flynn, no— there’s loads of people around. _Please.”_

“Even better. _The one, desire…”_

“Flynn, I—” 

_“Believe, when I say…”_

_Dear God, what have I been dragged into,_ Julie thought, unable to resist joining in. _“I want it that way.”_

_“Tell me why, ain’t nothin’ but a heartache…”_

_“TELL ME WHY ain’t nothin’ but a mistake…”_

_“Tell me why, I never wanna hear you say…”_

Ignoring the stares which they were undoubtedly getting, the two girls screamed the lyric before falling over each other laughing. _“I want it that way.”_

☕☕☕

After dropping off the box back at her apartment, and letting Flynn pick out a ‘less pitiful’ outfit for her, the pair were soon on their way back out towards the bar that Willie worked at— “Eats and Beats”. He was waiting patiently for them when they got there, and their usual table was reserved for when they arrived. 

“Wills, you sitting or what? Can’t hover forever.” Flynn tugged on his shirt sleeve, but he pulled away and nodded in the direction of his boss. 

“I’d love to join you, but my shift doesn’t end for another half hour. See you then?” He shrugged, adjusting his apron.

Flynn sighed, “Pity party for two, ew- no. I’m calling in reinforcements.” 

“Reinforcements?” Julie raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by reinforcements?” 

Within ten minutes, several other people had arrived— two of which Julie recognised from Mrs Harrison’s. Flynn stood up to make the introductions. “Right, rapid-fire introductions time! These are all my work friends, they are going to be joining us. You’ve got Reggie, he makes the world’s best iced lattes. Carrie, the most badass person I’ve ever met. She scares me slightly and I love it. Alex, hates working the register but can throw together a hot chocolate in a time that should be illegal… And you already know Luke, so no introduction is needed.” 

He nodded at her. “Butterscotch latte,” he remembered. 

“How have we never been here before?” Alex looked around, “This place is awesome.” His eyes fell on Willie working behind the bar. “We should come here more often.”

“Hi,” Julie smiled, slightly bombarded by the arrival of people. “I’m Julie. Julie Molina.” 

Flynn turned back to the new arrivals. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help my best friend get over her ex.”

“Deal.” Carrie sat down, waving the other bartender over. “What’s the deal with this crappy ex of yours?” 

“We’d been dating for ages, I thought he was going to propose but nope, the secret he’d been hiding was that he wanted to break up. And when I go to get my stuff from his place, he’s already sleeping with someone else.” Julie shrugged, downing the shot that had appeared next to her. 

Carrie narrowed her eyes at her. “What’s his address?” 

“He lives on the sixth floor of an apartment building, not a house, so you can’t TP it. Or egg it. Or arson,” Flynn sighed. “And I already stole a decorative rock. Or three.” 

Julie’s eyebrows shot up, “You _what?”_

Flynn placed the first ornamental pebble on the table for everyone to see, and then followed it with the other two, and Luke almost choked on his drink when he saw that she had genuinely stolen something, and Alex began to slow clap. Carrie gave a curt nod of approval as Julie put her head in her hands. Flynn put the stones back in her pocket and shrugged, “Collateral.” 

“Collateral for _what?”_

“That’s between me and him,” she winked. 

Julie sank further onto the table and took the next offered drink. 

By the time Willie finished his shift, the karaoke machine was live and apparently the others had realised, and were using it to embarrass him more than a little. He watched with a raised eyebrow as he ditched his apron behind the bar. “Don’t get me wrong, Caleb loves a good show, but before you kick this off… can any of you other than Julie actually sing?” There were several offended shouts in response, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, what song?”

“How about Shut Up and Dance?” Julie suggested, holding a mic above her head. Her nerves at the new group had been abandoned thanks to several of Willie’s drinks and the appearance of the karaoke machine. This was her turf, and she instantly felt more at home when music was suggested. 

“Wait!” Luke scrambled to find his car keys. “Give me two minutes!”

“You better not be driving anywhere, Patterson,” Carrie scolded.

“I’m not!” He called as he darted out the door, leaving it swinging in his wake. 

True to his word, Luke Patterson reappeared two minutes later, only this time with a guitar case in hand. Alex sighed at him as he pulled out the electric guitar inside and plugged it into the amp. “Dude, how many times have I told you not to bring that out with us if we’re leaving the car here?” 

“Shh—” Luke put a finger over Alex’s lips. “I’m tuning.” 

He pulled the strap over his head and jumped up onto the mini-stage next to Julie. Her eyebrows shot up, “You play?” 

Luke scoffed as he hit the start button on the karaoke track, the three-second delay before it started giving him time to throw the guitar over his shoulder and catch it smugly. “A little.” The moment the track kicked in, he started with the fingerpicking intro, the guitar pick somehow having made its way between his teeth while he did so. Julie’s eyebrows shot up further. Either he was trying to impress her, or this was a karaoke competition. 

A karaoke competition on her home turf? Alright, it’s on. She let Luke take the beginning, waiting to gauge how good he was. 

Yeah, he was more than _good._

_Oh don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me_

_I said, you’re holding back_

_She said, shut up and dance with me_

_This woman is my destiny_

_She said, ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me_

Julie ran a hand through her hair before cutting in, a smile on her face. It was Luke’s turned to almost be stunned into silence as she started to sing, but the grin slid back onto his face easily as soon as he realised they were easily matched. 

_We were victims of the night_

_The chemical, physical, kryptonite_

_Helpless to the bass and the fading light_

_Oh we were bound to get together_

_Bound to get together_

_She took my arm_

_I don’t know how it happened_

_We took the floor and she said_

Their voices finally blended in the chorus, perfectly suited like they were supposed to sing together. Julie had known Luke was an animated person from her first few interactions with him, but that was only amplified when he picked up the guitar, belting out the lyrics like he belonged on stage. 

_Oh don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me_

_I said, you’re holding back_

_She said, shut up and dance with me_

_This woman is my destiny_

_She said, ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me_

Julie took the next verse, but she didn’t miss how Luke’s eyebrows went up for a second as she sang the line ‘Juliet teenage dream’, and she almost found herself laughing too much to continue the next line. _Almost._

_A backless dress and some beat up sneaks_

_My discotheque, Juliet teenage dream_

_I felt it in my chest as she looked at me_

_I knew we were bound to be together_

_Bound to be together_

They did the pre-chorus and chorus together, somehow perfectly in sync. Julie shot Flynn a look from on stage, and her friend was enjoying the performance more than anything, leaning against Carrie who had long-since given up trying to keep her own personal space. 

_She took my arm_

_I don’t know how it happened_

_We took the floor and she said_

_Oh don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me_

_I said, you’re holding back_

_She said, shut up and dance with me_

_This woman is my destiny_

_She said, ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me_

Luke took the guitar solo, dropping into a knee-slide at the front of the small stage. If he didn’t look like he’d done it a thousand times, Julie almost might’ve been worried that he’d fall off. She rolled her eyes fondly and started to sing. _“Deep in her eyes, I think I see the future, I realise this is my last chance…”_ She held the mic out towards Luke as he stood back up and he leant towards it, locking eyes with her as he continued. _“She took my arm, I don’t know how it happened, we took the floor and she said…”_

He whirled back around and started stamping his foot against the stage in replacement of the drums, his fingers dancing across the guitar as he encouraged all our friends to stamp their feet in time to the music. Luke turned back towards Julie as she held out her mic again.

_Oh, don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me_

_I said, you’re holding back_

_She said, shut up and dance with me_

Julie tipped the mic towards herself. 

_This woman is my destiny_

_She said, ooh-ooh-hoo_

They both shared the mic, shouting at the same time: _“SHUT UP AND DANCE!”_

Luke jumped back in front of the mic stand he had been using before and both of them faced the audience, and the few people that had actually come to Caleb’s bar to _drink_ , not for the free karaoke show. 

_Don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me_

_I said, you’re holding back_

_She said, shut up and dance with me_

_This woman is my destiny_

_She said, ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me_

_Ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me_

_Ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me_

They finished the song breathless and with a new friendship. 

“Damn, Molina. You’ve got pipes,” Luke whispered, sliding his guitar back into the case. 

“Back at you, Patterson.”


	3. Where Have You Bean All My Life?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie finally runs into Luke again.
> 
> chapter title change 'chasing coffee' >>> 'where have you bean all my life?'

It only occurred to Julie at midday the next day, but when she saw Luke at Eats and Beats, she never thanked him for the other night. So, after realising she still didn’t have his number, Julie decided to go to the one place she had a chance of running into him. _Mrs Harrison’s._

Okay, and she was craving a Butterscotch Latte, so sue her. 

Only when she got there, she’d missed him by ten minutes. 

“Sit, I’m making you a drink,” Carrie ordered. Although taken a little by surprise, Julie sat down at the counter next to her. The girl hadn’t completely been welcoming so far, and slightly prickly overall, but according to Flynn she was like that with everyone. Sharp and to the point, all while having a brilliant fashion sense and ability to read people’s minds, apparently. “Butterscotch latte,” she announced after a moment, sliding the takeout cup across the counter. 

Julie stared at it for a moment, surprised. “Oh. How much is it?” 

“On the house,” Carrie replied, adjusting her name tag. 

“No, seriously,” she insisted. “How much?” 

Carrie leant forwards over the register, levelling Julie with a death-glare. “No. Charge.” 

“I can pay for my own damn drink,” she retorted, pulling the money out of her purse. 

“I don’t doubt that,” Carrie smirked. “But today, _no charge._ ”

“But—”

“No. Charge.” 

Julie kept eye contact with Carrie for a moment, as she pulled a five-dollar bill out of her bag. Her right eyebrow raised upwards slightly, just enough for Carrie to notice as she made a point of putting the note into the tip jar. 

“Have it your way,” she replied, picking up her drink and throwing her bag back on her shoulder.

Julie decided she’d just have to keep coming back until she saw Luke. 

And a few more butterscotch lattes couldn’t hurt, right? 

☕☕☕

So Julie kept coming back. And she kept missing Luke. It didn’t matter which day or which time she came, his shifts were so sporadic she ended up just missing him each time. And to make matters more confusing, the free drinks kept coming. It didn’t matter who was on shift, but the moment Julie walked in and they noticed, there’d be a butterscotch latte on the counter with her name on it. 

If Alex was on shift, he’d somehow manage to make it while taking someone else’s order to keep the queue moving. If it was Reggie, he’d get this big grin on his face before finishing up with the current customer and making her drink, waving her over for a chat in between serving people. Flynn would slide the hot drink across the counter towards her like a bartender sliding a shot glass, and it would miraculously never fall off the edge. Carrie would always offer a curt smile and write a simple “J” on her cup, in what seemed to be a calligraphy style. 

But somehow, she’d keep missing Luke. 

Julie tried to hide her slight disappointment every time it wasn’t him.

Until a few months later, in early February. 

It wasn’t even his shift, but Julie was sitting at the counter with her laptop attempting to finish her music history essay when he burst through the door, skidding across the recently-cleaned cafe floor in his sneakers until he crashed into the counter. That was what caught Julie’s attention. If he hadn’t arrived so forcefully, she would’ve kept to herself, one earbud in and wholly focused on her essay. But, being Luke, he managed to catch everyone’s attention. 

She looked up, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ shape in surprise at seeing him. Unfortunately, Luke Patterson had a one-track mind, and at this very moment in time, that mind was dead set on Alex. The blond held up a hand to tell him to wait a moment as he finished serving the current customer. Luke hovered impatiently, practically vibrating with pent-up energy as he waited for Alex to finish. By the time he handed the drink to the customer they were too distracted by Luke’s all-too-visible biceps thanks to his ‘Landed In The USA’ white cut-off, but she seemed to take the drink and leave before she had an opportunity to introduce herself. 

Besides, he probably wouldn’t have noticed her in the state he was in anyway. 

“Alex. Alex. Alex. Alex,” he waved the piece of paper in Alex’s face. “It’s almost finished.” 

Alex raised an eyebrow, amused. “You came here in the middle of my shift to tell me it’s almost finished, when you’re going to be at my apartment in an hour and a half anyway?” 

Luke sighed, hopping up to sit on the counter and lean over to him. “I came here in the middle of your shift because it sounds amazing but there’s this bit that needs _something_ and I want to borrow some of your creative genius.” 

“You flatter me, Lucas,” he replied with a laugh.

“Come on, Lex. I just can’t figure out what we’re missing.” 

Julie couldn’t help but eavesdrop. The embarrassing part was that Alex seemed to sense her listening to their conversation, and as soon as another customer presented themself in front of the register, he gave Luke a light shoo in Julie’s direction. “Ask the resident _music student,_ dude. I have a customer. I’ll see you at band practice later.” 

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t Butterscotch Latte?” Luke grinned.

“You’re in a band?” Julie asked, even though it was obvious at this point. 

He nodded, sliding onto the next stool along from her. “You’re a music student?” Julie turned her laptop towards him briefly so he could see her essay title. _“Sweet.”_ The piece of paper with the lyrics on was still in his hand, but Luke seemed to feel hesitant about showing her. Then his eyes followed her line of sight and he realised that she was looking directly at it and caved in, sliding the piece of paper across the countertop towards her. 

Julie put her drink down and closed her laptop, picking up the piece of paper. The moment she touched it, Luke stood up, leaning over her shoulder. He had zero sense of personal space, but she was too focused on the lyrics to really notice. 

_Life is a risk but I will take it_

_Close my eyes and jump_

“This is really good,” she murmured, turning the paper over to see the other side. 

“Here,” Luke pulled out a pair of earphones from his pocket that seemed to be on their last legs. After one look at them, one of the earpieces cracked in half and fell to the floor unprovoked. Julie tapped her own with a raised eyebrow and unplugged her phone from them, connecting them to Luke’s phone instead. “Yeah, good call,” he laughed, scrolling through the voice recordings until he got to the one titled _Bright._

Julie closed her eyes and listened to the song through once, and when Luke opened his mouth to say something she restarted the clip from the beginning and listened to it again. “It’s missing something…” 

“Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying.” 

“I have an idea,” she sighed. “But I need equipment.” 

“My apartment’s a twenty-minute drive?” Luke suggested. 

“Eats and Beats is five? Willie works there, so we have free rein of the rehearsal space as long as Caleb’s not around?” 

Luke let out a breath, “Where have you been all my life?” 

“Come on,” she rolled her eyes, packing her laptop into her bag and waving goodbye to Alex. 

She almost wished she had taken the bus when she saw the car. _How the hell was this thing still working?_ The car looked like it could fall apart with a wrong look, and Julie was _definitely_ giving it that look. Luke laughed when he saw the look of horror on her face. “Relax, Molina. It’s got _character.”_

“If by ‘character’ you mean ‘the ability to fall apart at any moment’ then it’s got that in _buckets,”_ she replied sarcastically as she slid into the passenger seat. “And it also has… actual buckets?” Julie went to move the blue bucket out of the footwell but Luke beat her to it. 

“You don’t want to touch that. It’s Bobby’s— that’s our other band member— and he’s a high school music teacher that can’t handle his drink very well. We have this in the car for when we all go out to celebrate after a gig because he still insists on drinking but gets wasted very quickly,” Luke explained, gently tossing it onto the back seat. “Basically, don’t touch it.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind?” Julie glanced around warily. “Anything else I should know about this death trap?” 

“Yeah,” Luke schooled his expression into seriousness for a moment. “Driver controls the music.” 

She rolled her eyes, “That’s universal law, obviously.” 

“Glovebox, choose,” he sighed, making a vague gesture towards the compartment. “But I don’t offer this opportunity to _everyone,_ so choose wisely.” 

Julie was barely given any warning as she opened the glove compartment before several CDs fell into her lap. She sieved through them, making idle conversation as she silently judged his music taste. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. “So, tell me about your band?” 

“Well Bobby’s uncle has music industry connections, so he managed to get us a space to record a demo, but that’s all so far. It’s me, Alex, Reg, and Bobby. I play lead guitar with Bobby playing rhythm, Alex plays drums and Reggie is our bassist. They don’t sing as much as me— I’m the lead singer— but they should, they’ve got _killer_ voices. Our best track is _Now or Never_ , but I think we’ve got a real chance at leaving our mark with some of the new stuff I’ve been working on. Flynn offered to be our social media manager? Whatever that is? Haven’t had a chance to take her up on the offer yet though— What?” Luke paused, trying to judge Julie’s expression. “What?” he prompted.

“Nothing,” she smiled. “You’re just really passionate.” 

Luke shifted awkwardly, “Yeah, I get that a lot. Reggie calls it my ‘hyperdrive’ because he’s Star Wars obsessed, and Bobby calls it ‘undiagnosed ADHD’.” 

Julie’s focus landed on one of the CDs in the pile, and she lifted it up to look at it. Somehow, without Luke having told her his band’s name was Sunset Curve, she could just tell. Her suspicions were confirmed when she turned the case over and the four songs were titled on the back. _Now or Never, Late Last Night, Lakeside Reflection_ and _In Your Starlight._ Without saying anything, Julie slipped the CD into the player and watched Luke’s expression as the song came on. 

His eyebrows shot up. “You chose— that’s… that’s our demo.” 

“Is it?” Julie shrugged, “Didn’t realise.” 

Unable to stop himself, Luke started to sing along. _“Kept on climbing ‘til our stars collided, and all the times we fell behind were just the keys to paradise!”_

Julie let out a quiet laugh, tapping her foot in time to the music. Then she started nodding her head, and soon she was doing some _horrendous_ drumming on the dashboard and— to Luke’s delight— singing along at the chorus. 

_Don’t look down_

_‘Cause we’re still rising up right now_

_And even if we hit the ground, we’ll still fly_

_Keep dreaming like we’ll live forever_

_But living like it’s now or never_

The song timed perfectly with getting stuck at a red light, and Julie started clapping along to the chorus after the bridge while Luke tapped the same beat on the steering wheel, the two of them stuck in their own little bubble thanks to the song. As the final guitar chords rang out, Luke shook a piece of hair out of his face and relaxed back into the seat, letting _Late Last Night_ start to play. 

“You should sing more,” Luke said after a moment, catching his breath. “You’re incredible. You’re like a human wrecking ball.” 

Julie laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Thanks, but at the moment my talents are limited to drunk karaoke, singing in the shower, and compulsory class performances.” 

“Completely valid,” he replied, “But also a waste of your talent.” 

They pulled up outside of Eats and Beats and Willie waved at them from behind the bar, a rag slung over his shoulder with his hair in a loose low bun. He directed a raised eyebrow at Julie when he saw who she was with, but she rolled her eyes and showed Luke into the practice room. He froze for a second, awestruck at the surroundings. “Is that a fucking Fender Squier Strat autographed by The Killers’ _Brandon Flowers?”_ Luke’s hand raised almost of his own accord as he reached towards the guitar hanging up on the wall. Before he got close enough, he jerked his arm back like it had been burned. “I’m not gonna do that. I’m not gonna touch it. That guitar is worth more than either one of my kidneys.” 

“Don’t sell your kidney just so you can touch the guitar,” Julie warned with a laugh. 

“Not gonna lie, Molina, the thought crossed my mind.” 

She patted the piano stool next to the keyboard and Luke tore his eyes away from the guitar to share the seat with her. “I think where you’re really missing something is the bridge. The song has this great sound, but it could use a keyboard in places as you build up the sound. Especially at the beginning and the bridge, if you want to make the chorus more impactful.” 

“Alright,” Luke nodded along, completely understanding her train of thought. “Show me?” He glanced around the room before clocking a guitar in the corner that admittedly looked expensive, but not _sell your kidney_ expensive. Luke pulled out his phone and hit the record so he could show the guys later.

Julie took a deep breath before setting the piece of paper out in front of her and turning on the keyboard. 

_Sometimes I think I’m falling down_

_I wanna cry, I’m calling out_

_For one more try to feel alive_

_And when I feel lost and alone_

_I know that I can make it home_

_Fight through the dark, and find the spark_

_Life is a risk but I will take it_

_Close my eyes and jump_

_Together I think that we can make it_

_Come on, let’s run_

So focused on the song, she barely noticed Luke standing up and grabbing the guitar. He plugged it into the amp and had been building on her sound from the beginning of the pre-chorus, waiting until she started to sing the ‘run’ to join in fully with the chords. She turned back to look at him, grinning. 

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

“Yeah, so that’s what I was thinking?” She suggested, “And then a similar piano part in the bridge.”

“It’s perfect. Keep going?” 

She nodded and let him take the next verse. 

_In times that I doubted myself_

_I felt like I needed some help_

_Stuck in my head with nothing left_

_I feel something around me now_

_So unclear, lifting me out_

_I found the ground, I’m marching on_

_Life is a risk but we will take it_

_Close my eyes and jump_

_Together I think that we can make it_

_Come on, let’s run_

They started the chorus, together and Luke walked around the back of the keyboard to lean over it towards Julie during the bridge, savouring the moment. 

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

Luke took the first part of the pre-chorus, unable to take his eyes off Julie. _“And times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help, stuck in my head with nothing left…”_

 _“And when I feel lost and alone, I know that I can make it home, fight through the dark and find the spark…”_ Julie took over, holding the note as Luke echoed in the background. 

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night_

_You and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the love i've been getting on this fic!! it's so wild i swear, thank you guys for reading & comments are always appreciated :)


	4. Trouble Brewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke's little sister Nia shows up (an oc) and she's... quite something.
> 
> yes, the title is another coffee pun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the love on this so far is insane! i published yesterday and it's already almost at 600 hits? y'all are awesome :)

Weeks after their session with Bright, Julie and Luke had managed to coincidentally always end up at Mrs Harrison’s at the same time. Whether that meant her arriving at the beginning of his shift, and talking to him over the counter while he worked, or arriving at the end of his shift so they could squeeze into one of the booths by the window afterwards and he could show her new lyrics he’d been working on. 

The two of them received many knowing looks from their friends, but neither seemed to notice. 

Julie found herself growing closer to the others as well. She talked Star Wars and eyeliner with Reggie, dance with Alex and Carrie, and when she eventually met Bobby the two of them could rant for hours about teaching and studying music. At the beginning of last year, if someone had told Julie she’d spent more time in a cosy coffee shop than in her own apartment, she’d have laughed. Now, she could barely imagine her life without this place and the people inside it.

She’d also managed to meet Mrs Harrison. Luke was by no means exaggerating when he said she was the nicest person he’d ever met. 

Then someone new entered Mrs Harrison’s one morning, and the routine changed again. 

“Nia!” Luke threw his arms around her, darting out from behind the register to wrap her into a hug. 

Julie raised an eyebrow from her spot at the counter, mildly interested, before pretending to busy herself checking the notifications on her phone. When Luke finally released the girl, he gestured for her to sit down in the seat next to Julie. “Julie… this is my sister Nia, she’s in town for a little while. Nia this is my… this is Julie.” He slid back around to serve the next customer and Julie held out her hand to shake Nia’s.

“Julie Molina,” she introduced herself. 

“Nia Patterson.” Nia sat down next to Julie, eyeing her brother’s fashion taste. “How many times have I told you to wear things with sleeves?” She rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and a perfectly sculpted eyebrow appeared above the frames. 

Luke laughed, handing another customer their drinks and wishing them a nice day before leaning against the counter closer to Julie and Nia. He shot Julie a look and mock-stage-whispered, “She thinks she’s cooler than me because she’s the youngest.” 

“I _know_ I’m cooler than you, Lucas, but that’s not hard,” she replied with a shrug. 

He reeled back, holding his heart in mock-injury. “You wound me, Nia. You really do.” 

She leant forwards and ruffled his hair over the divider between the workspace and the counter, pouting at him. “I know. Is it still cool if I crash at your place?” 

Luke hesitated for a second, and Julie saw something cross his face briefly, before he started to smile again and nodded. “‘Course. Only if you can put up with my guitar though.” 

“I suppose I can get used to that again. It’s been quiet since you left,” she replied after a second, almost warily. 

He shrugged, noncommittal, and slid Nia’s drink forward. “One vanilla bean frap with raspberry syrup, freeze-dried blackberries and whipped cream.” 

“I still don’t understand how you remember everyone’s drinks,” Nia laughed. 

To prove a point, Luke pointed at Julie. “Butterscotch latte.” 

She laughed and rolled her eyes, “Only because you got me hooked on them the first night we met.” 

Reggie slid into the seat on the side of Nia, but when he noticed who it was he pulled her into a hug. “Welcome to Mrs H’s, our second home.” 

“I wouldn’t have found this place with the instructions _he_ sent,” Nia directed a pointed look at Luke, “How do you guys even get customers? It’s so out of the way.” 

Luke pulled a face and Julie had to duck her head to hide her laughter as he replied, “One doesn’t just _find_ Mrs Harrison’s. It’s like the room of requirement, it appears when you need it the most.” 

This time Julie couldn’t contain her laughter, she snorted, unable to help herself. “That’s surprisingly accurate.” 

Reggie caught the apron that Luke tossed to him over the counter and pulled it over his head. “It’s fate,” he explained. “I needed a job, happened to run into my old friend Mrs H, two days later I could pay my rent again.” 

Luke agreed, “Same here. Needed a job, my bike ended up getting a flat and this place just _happened_ to be between me and the nearest bus stop.” 

“And you know how I ended up here,” Julie reminded Luke and Reggie, before turning to Nia to explain. “My boyfriend broke up with me, it was pouring down with rain, and I ended up kicking over the trash can outside. Not exactly my finest moment.” 

Nia snorted, “Men suck.” 

“Hey!” Reggie and Luke cried at the same time, mildly offended even though she was joking. 

She considered it for a second. “Okay, Reggie still has rights.” 

Reggie cheered, and Luke licked his finger before sticking it in Reggie’s ear. Reggie pulled a face. “You’re a child, go wash your hands.” 

Julie laughed as the two of them continued to make faces at each other while Luke walked backward towards the break room, pulling his apron off at the same time and slinging it over his shoulder. “Time to clock off,” he grinned. “That’s my cue to leave.” He pointed at the entrance to the cafe as he pushed open the break room door, backing into it and disappearing. 

The three heads turned towards the door he’d been pointing to just as Carrie walked in. She was wearing her usual pink leather jacket and a pair of faded jeans with rips on the knee, but what was different from usual was her _hair._

Carrie had walked in with pink hair. 

She noticed the three pairs of eyes on her instantly and scoffed. “I came straight from Dirty Candi rehearsal, I didn’t have time to take the wig off and my hair’s pinned up underneath it.” Carrie paused before pulling her apron on and pulling her pink wig into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. “Nice sunglasses, Nia.”

That was about as warm as she seemed to get. 

☕☕☕

It wasn’t long before Julie started to notice the small changes in Luke after his sister’s arrival. He was usually at ease, but certain conversation topics seemed to bring the usually upbeat tempo to a sharp halt, before he shook it off and changed the subject. Julie was itching to ask why, but one of the times it happened she shared a look with Alex immediately after and he subtly shook his head. 

Two days after Nia first showed up at Mrs Harrison’s, Luke came into work with his hoodie drawn up and almost obscuring his face completely. Julie raised an eyebrow at Carrie, who shrugged and continued making a customer’s drink. Nia arrived a few minutes after Luke and tossed him the car keys over the counter before dropping into a seat with a smirk. 

“Why the hell are you wearing your hood up?” Julie reached up but Luke dodged out of the way, narrowly missing knocking a cup of scalding coffee from the counter and putting his hand up between her and the hood that was drawn up tightly around his face.

“It’s the newest fashion craze.” He took a step back, trying to hide his smile.

“You’re weirding out the other customers,” Carrie whispered as she walked past, suppressing a laugh.

Beside Julie, Nia laughed. “Well, I like it.” 

“You do?” Luke looked rather taken aback.

“Yeah,” she leant in close before whispering: “It almost hides your face.”

He stuck out his tongue in response and pulled a face at her. His sister gave him one in return before looking back down at her phone.

Julie rolled her eyes and went back to the essay she’d been drafting.

An hour later Luke went on a break, and Julie followed him into the staff room around the back. He raised an eyebrow at her, “Employees only?” 

“Come on, take the hoodie off. It’s like a frickin’ sauna in here, you’re going to pass out.” Julie chucked her friend a small water bottle and he almost downed the whole thing in one. “Exhibit A. But seriously, I feel like you’re hiding something, or want to get a day of work by losing consciousness.” 

Luke rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Jules. Really.”

“Then you won’t mind if I…” She reached up before he could stop her, her hand closing around the back of his hoodie and pulling the hood away from his head in one swift movement. There was a beanie underneath. “Oh wow.” Julie used his smugness at her brief surprise to swipe the beanie from his head and reveal his hair. “Oh _wow.”_ His hair… yes, it was messier than usual, but it was also… _pastel blue?_

“Go on,” he sighed in defeat, running a hand through it. “Do your worst.”

“That… might possibly be the worst case of bedhead I have _ever_ seen.” She reached up again, but this time to ruffle it. “But also, the colour. Don’t get me wrong, it kind of suits you somehow, but _why_?”

“Well you know Nia’s staying over? And that I’m a heavy sleeper? She did it. Last night. And it only comes out after like eight washes.”

“And you never wake up on time, so you didn’t have time to try before work. Understandable. But seriously? Why did she do it? And why _pastel blue_ of all colours?”

“Apparently my style is too ‘nineties’ to be even remotely associated with her, and I needed to ‘spice it up a little’ if I wanted to continue living with her. Even though she’s the one who decided to temporarily move in with _me_.”

Julie studied it for a moment, “You know, it’s not _that_ bad. It could be worse.”

“Yeah,” Carrie agreed from the doorway. “She could’ve dyed it pink and then you and _I_ would’ve had a problem. Get your ass back in here, the lunch rush is about to start.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Luke responded, catching the door as Carrie passed through to hold it open for Julie. She nodded in thanks as they all returned to the main area. As soon as Nia saw Luke’s hair she burst out laughing. 

“Wow, my heart only grew fonder in its absence,” she sighed dramatically, ignoring the paper cup that sailed over her head. “It’s bad to litter,” Nia tutted, swatting at him. 

Alex pushed open the door and rolled his eyes when he saw the cup on the floor, picking it up and muttering to himself as he tossed it into the recycling. “You need to improve your aim,” he remarked on his way into the break room. “Or at least aim for the recycling next time.” 

“Are any of you on my side today?” Luke complained, pouting. 

Julie’s phone vibrated and she checked it again before groaning and letting her head fall to the table. “Fucks sake.”

“What’s up?” Carrie actually seemed concerned for once as she asked, “Is it that ex? Do we have to do something about him?” 

“No,” Julie sighed. “He’s been radio silent ever since Flynn stole his decorative rocks. It’s just car trouble— the garage has had my car for days and they still can’t find out what’s wrong with it. The guy just asked if he can keep it for longer.”

“That sucks,” Nia patted her on the shoulder. “I have a personal chauffeur, so I can’t relate.” 

Luke rolled his eyes, “She means me.” 

“I thought that was implied?” Nia added with a grin. 

“Do you need a ride?” Carrie offered. “I know Flynn’s not on shift today, but I can drop you back at your place?” 

“God, Carrie, I could kiss you!” Julie sighed in relief, leaning across the counter to pull a reluctant Carrie into a hug.

“Please don’t, you’re not my type,” she mumbled, making no effort to escape from the hug. 

Maybe Carrie was warming up to her a little bit more than she was letting on.


	5. Kiss The Chai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bit of a change of pace, this chapter is Willex centric :)
> 
> also if you've read my luke x oc fic then you might recognise some of the members of Nick's band...
> 
> yes the chapter title is a coffee pun on 'kiss the guy'

Alex pushed open the door to Eats and Beats. It was mid-morning, so they weren’t busy in the slightest. Instead, the only person that seemed to be about was Willie, dancing along the floor as he mopped it. Alex hovered outside the door for a minute, watching him fondly. He liked to dance and although it was nowhere near as anxiety-relieving as wailing on the drums, that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it. But Willie… Willie seemed built for the movement, adding his own flair to what usually would’ve passed as ordinary moves, even going so far as to slide across one of the tables. 

Then he noticed Alex, and he stopped mid-performance. But the at-ease grin never left his face. “Alex, hey! You’re here for Julie, right?” 

He nodded, “Her car still in the shop?” 

“Has been for a while now, but with the busses all messed up at the moment… anyway, did she not text you?” Willie asked, tossing the mop to one of the other employees— Nick, his name might have been?— and walking towards him. “Flynn dropped by on her way to Mrs H’s and took Jules with her.”

Alex frowned, “No, she… uh… she didn’t mention it.” 

“Weird. Well, now that you’re here, you _gotta_ check out the new drum kit Caleb got in. You’re still into drums, right? ‘Course you are, that was a stupid question— you’re literally Sunset Curve’s drummer. Anyway, it’s in the back,” Willie rambled on, taking Alex by the hand and pulling him into the back room with him, the room that Julie and Luke first perfected _Bright_ in. 

Stunned by the fact that _Willie was holding his hand,_ Alex nodded numbly and let himself be dragged through the doorway. He froze when he saw the music room, momentarily forgetting to breathe as he took in the sight. Luke had told him about the guitar— hadn’t stopped raving about it for days, _weeks_ even— but the new drum kit is what caught his eye. 

“Wow,” he whispered, almost involuntarily. 

Willie leant in, a cheeky grin on his face. “You want to test them out?” 

“What about your boss?” Alex asked worriedly. 

He shook his head, “Not a factor. Besides… AJ brought her bass, Nick decided today would be a good day to bring his guitar to work… and Ky has a killer voice. Well, they can all sing, but _still._ Technically all they need to jam today is a drummer, and as _fate_ would have it, one walked right in the front door.” 

Alex scoffed inwardly. _Fate? More like Julie Molina._ “Okay. If you’re sure.” 

AJ, Ky, and Nick all chose that point to fall through the door in excitement, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation. “We’re playing Yesterday!” AJ announced, before turning to Alex to clarify. “Every Other Year. Cool band I found on instagram.” 

“I thought we were playing Dotan?” Ky frowned at her. 

She shrugged innocently, “We already agreed _Yesterday_ like… _yesterday_.” 

Alex scratched the back of his head, “I mean… how much time do you have? I’ve got a few hours until my shift…” 

Ky pumped his fist and AJ grinned, throwing an arm around Willie’s shoulders. “You pick the good ones, my dude.”

Willie threw his head back and laughed, jokingly removing her arm from around him and dropping it onto Nick instead. “Are you guys clowns or are you musicians?” 

“Musicians, duh,” Ky sighed. “Actually, AJ might be leaning towards the former…” 

“Jackass,” she pulled a face at him and gave him a light shove towards the other side of the room. “Grab the mics, will you?” 

Alex paused, unsure where he fit into all this. The group seemed to have worked together so many times, seamlessly sorting out the equipment. Willie noticed his hesitation and led him towards the drum kit. “You’re really awesome for doing this today, you know that? AJ’s buddy Jason usually drums for their band, but he’s off at some wedding or something.” 

“No problem,” he replied. “This seems fun. Besides, I don’t really know your other friends that well, which is surprising since we’ve started spending more time here.” 

Willie nudged him playfully, “Awesome. Well… I, for one, am pretty stoked to be having you around more.” 

For the second time in ten minutes, Alex forgot how to breathe. 

Then his phone buzzed and snapped him out of it: two unread messages from Julie Molina. 

Julie  
  
sorry! flynn picked me up on her way to work  
  
couldn't text you in time because my phone died  
  
you orchestrated this whole thing, didn't you?  
  
trying to play matchmaker?  
  
actually it was carrie's idea  
  
either way, you'll thank us later ;)  
  


He rolled his eyes and found the music online to sight-read, propping his phone up on a selfie stand that was probably supposed to be used for filming, but it didn’t matter because AJ had plugged in her bass and Ky was testing the microphone. Nick tuned his guitar and waited to be counted in. There didn’t seem to be any drumming at the very beginning, so he sat back and watched the others play. 

What surprised him the most was Willie, hovering behind the keyboard for the beginning bit. When he caught the look on Alex’s face he shrugged, not giving much away as he started playing the intro. Alex followed along on his screen, spinning his drumsticks in his hands until it was time to join in, still without vocals just yet but with Nick’s guitar and AJ’s bass. 

_“Grenade of silence, well you can just take away my pride,”_ Ky leaned into the mic, running a hand through his hair. Alex had to admit, the guy could sing. _“And all these tyrants, we’re fighting for what it’s worth tonight.”_

AJ nudged her brother out of the way of the main mic to take over, despite having hers on the side, and Alex laughed. _“So stand up, don’t let up, this time alive, stop this game you were playing to me.”_

Ky pushed her back towards her own mic so he, Nick, and AJ could all sing the chorus. Alex mentally filed away the name of the song for later, thoroughly enjoying himself. 

_So tell me that you love me_

_Tell me that you’ll stay_

_Show me I should never be afraid of yesterday_

_Tell me I’m the good one_

_Right all of my wrongs_

_Fly away don’t say that you are never coming home_

Nick took the next verse, _“You made me believe that you would never let this go, don’t push me down, ending our words in silence now…”_

AJ jumped in again, _“Am I just a dead soul? Crying alone, stop this game you were playing to me, yeah!”_

This time, Alex felt confident enough to join them in with the chorus, shooting an appreciative look at Willie. 

_So tell me that you love me_

_Tell me that you’ll stay_

_Show me I should never be afraid of yesterday_

_Tell me I’m the good one_

_Right all of my wrongs_

_Fly away don’t say that you are never coming home_

Ky belted out the bridge, putting his entire heart into it considering he wasn’t completely into the song at the beginning. 

_Is anybody broken?_

_Is anybody fixing you?_

_‘Cause everybody’s leaving_

_Everybody’s leaving you_

_I’ll stop you from believing_

_That he is turning round for you_

_Let me be your cure_

And then Alex felt his heart stop, because all the other instruments faded out and _Willie_ started to sing. _“So tell me that you love me, tell me that you’ll stay…”_ He seemed a little nervous at first, but then Alex and the others joined back in for the second half of the chorus and it was _electric._ _“Show me I should never be afraid of yesterday.”_

_Tell me I’m the good one_

_Right all of my wrongs_

_Fly away don’t say that you are never coming home_

_Tell me that you love me_

_Tell me that you’ll stay_

_Show me I should never be afraid of yesterday_

_Tell me I’m the good one_

_Right all of my wrongs_

_Fly away don’t say that you are never coming home_

_Is anybody fixing you?_

They were all out of breath as AJ high-fived Nick, and Willie wandered around behind the drums to see Alex as Ky disappeared to grab them all bottles of water from the fridge. 

“You’re a really talented drummer, Alex,” Willie smiled, letting his hair hide his face a little as heat filled his cheeks. 

“You didn’t tell me you could _sing,”_ he spluttered, staring at Willie. “What other hidden talents do you have?” _That could make you even hotter than you are right now. Nope, not possible._

“I skate,” Willie shrugged. “Hey, maybe I could teach you sometime.”

“That… I’d like that,” Alex grinned. 

_Okay, Molina. Maybe you were right_ this _time._

☕☕☕

“I think this was a good day,” Willie smiled at Alex over the table and he nodded, wholeheartedly in agreement. “Thanks for rehearsing with them.” 

“So you’re not a part of their band then?” 

He shook his head, glancing over to where the other three were messing about with the newest karaoke songs a few feet away. “I prefer dancing, art and skating, but it’s fun to crash their rehearsals every now and again. I’m not as into music as the rest of you, but I appreciate it.” 

Alex leant forwards. “You’re into art?” 

“Yeah, a buddy of mine owns a small museum not far from here. Every few months he just lets me loose in one of the rooms and I get to decorate it how I like. One time I painted the entire thing with that black paint that you can write on with chalk, and then hung loads of those tiny little multi-coloured gem things from the ceiling and wrote quotes about space on the walls. There was this other time where Flynn was really stressed about something, so I got a load of junk and put it in the room and just let her break it with a baseball bat. It was brutal, but also really impressive,” Willie explained. “One of my favourite projects was one a year or so ago that took _so_ long, and it involved putting footprints all over the walls and ceiling.” 

“That’s pretty cool,” Alex laughed. “How’d you manage it?” 

“Well, it wasn’t easy, but it was so awesome to put together. What about you? How did you get into drumming?” 

He leant back in the chair. “Well, I have anxiety, and drumming is one of the only things that actually helps,” Alex explained. “Dance did for a while, but not enough. I still like it though. Sometimes I get invited to the Dirty Candi rehearsals.” 

“Dirty Candi… that’s Carrie’s group, right?” 

Alex nodded, “Yeah, she started it a while back. A little more organised than Sunset Curve when it comes to releasing music - Carrie’s got two songs on Spotify and all we have is a four-song demo CD, _but_ Luke’s been working on a load of new songs so as soon as we find a way to record them then Flynn said she’d help us with Spotify and Instagram and all that stuff.” 

“That’s really cool, Alex!” Willie congratulated him. “Got any gigs lined up?” 

He shook his head, “Once every few months Mrs Harrison does a showcase and anyone can perform there… but that was a month and a half ago, so we haven’t done anything since.” 

“What about here?” He suggested. “I’m sure Caleb would appreciate the live music.” Willie bounced excitedly on his chair, “I bet I could get you guys a gig?” 

“Seriously?” Alex grinned, “Willie, that’s incredible! The guys will freak out!” 

Willie smiled at him, “I’ll see what I can do. Be right back.” 

Alex couldn’t stop smiling to himself as Willie disappeared into the back room, pulling out his phone and typing frantically on one of the group chats. 

Sunset Swerve  
  
willie??  
is getting us a gig??  
at EATS AND BEATS??  
Luke  
YES!!  
Reggie  
so that's where you've been today...  
hmmm...  
REGINALD.  


When Willie poked his head back around the door frame, he was practically vibrating with excitement in a way that kind of reminded Alex of Luke. “Yeah, how’s next Saturday sound?” 

Unable to vocalise his thanks, Alex nodded numbly, grinning like an idiot. Willie disappeared again and he knew he’d have to call Julie later. She had been more than a _little_ right. Not only was she right about him having a good time… 

…but she was also right about the little crush Alex had been developing on Willie from the first day they met.

  
  



	6. Brew Got This!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly you guys i'm surprised by my own consistency lol, the only time i've ever posted chapters on consecutive days is when they've all been prewritten! (this isn't) thanks for all the love so far :)

Saturday couldn’t come soon enough and the band had spent the previous week perfecting their setlist for the night. Since they didn’t have an opening band with them— and Dirty Candi doesn’t open for _anyone_ — Nick’s band was offered the spot and they jumped at the chance. Every spare minute was used to make the performance the best one that they could give. Between _Now or Never, In Your Starlight, Long Weekend_ and _Bright_ (which Luke had somehow convinced Julie to perform with them) it was going to be a night to remember. 

Alex was nervous, but overall excited, and he kept sending glances in Willie’s direction from his position at the bar, and receiving thumbs up in return. Reggie kept trying to chat up AJ and getting death glares from Ky as a result, and Luke continued to attempt to reassure Julie that she was going to be _amazing_ and there was nothing to worry about. 

“I wouldn’t have asked you to perform with us if I didn’t think you were gonna _rock_ it,” he nudged her gently.

“Remind me why I agreed to do this?” Julie sighed. They’d arrived earlier than Nick’s band was due to perform to help set everything up and keep Willie company on his shift, but it had only served in making Julie more anxious.

Luke threw an arm around her, “Think about it. We’ve practised the song a hundred times, you’re going to kill it.” Nia waved at him from across the room with a strange look on her face and he sighed. 

“Compromise,” Julie tested before he left. “If this goes horribly— which it could— you have to teach me how to make butterscotch lattes so that I never have to leave my apartment as long as I live.” 

“I’m taking that bet, Molina, because I know we’re going to blow people’s minds tonight,” he grinned. “But I’ll raise you one… If this goes amazingly— which it _will_ — then you have to co-write a song with me to perform at Mrs H’s next open mic night.” 

She rolled her eyes at him and laughed, sitting down next to Flynn at the bar and waving at Willie for a drink. Flynn eyed her with a smug look on her face and Julie picked up on it almost immediately. “What? What are you doing?” 

Flynn shrugged, feigning innocence, “You and Luke are pretty cosy. Besides, music is your love language, Jules.”

“We’re _friends_ ,” she replied pointedly. “Besides, are we not going to address the tension every time _you and Carrie_ are on shift together?” 

“Touché, Jules,” Flynn conceded, “But are we all going to address the _Willie and Alex_ situation?” 

Willie sucked in a breath and almost choked on air as his voice rose more than an octave, “What Wille and Alex situation?” Julie and Flynn levelled him with twin knowing looks and he glowered at them in response. “Okay, yeah, it’s no secret that I like him… but I don’t think he’s that into me so it’s probably a lost cause.” 

Flynn rolled his eyes, “Oh yeah? Anyone with half a brain cell can see the feelings are _reciprocated.”_

He shook his head. “I heard he has a crush, there’s no point.” 

“It’s you, dumbass!” Julie crumpled a napkin into a ball and tossed it at his forehead at point-blank range. “It’s very clearly you!” 

“Alright guys,” Nick waved from on stage, his guitar hanging around his neck while he adjusted the mic stand. “I’m Nick, this is AJ, Ky and Jason, and we are… still working on a band name!” The audience laughed and Nick loosened up a bit. “This is _The World Is Mine_ by Samm Henshaw.” 

Jason started on the drums and nodded at AJ, who took the first verse. The moment she started singing, Reggie had to be clapped on the back by Alex because he was so immersed in her voice he didn’t notice he was about to swallow the decorative strawberry on the side of his drink until it was too late. 

Ky took the first chorus, and he accidentally ended up locking eyes with Nia in the audience, who winked at him. He forcefully shook his head in her direction as Nick took the next verse, and AJ almost missed her cue for the backup vocals because she was trying so hard not to laugh at this girl trying and failing to hit on her gay brother. 

Julie enjoyed the performance and added the song on Spotify at the end of it. Carrie arrived and took Reggie’s chair next to Alex so that he had an excuse to stand up to watch AJ perform as the band started to cover _Feel It Still_ by Portugal. The Man. Willie took his break and joined them at the table and Nia started a conversation with Flynn about where she got her earrings, leaving Julie nursing her drink and unincluded. 

She looked around, confused when she noticed Luke was nowhere to be found. Before she had a chance to ask Nia where he’d gone after their chat, she spotted the tail end of his plaid coat disappear out the back door before it slammed after him. Since no one else seemed to have noticed, Julie slipped off the stool and followed him out into the night air. 

It was still relatively early and the sun was only just beginning to set, casting the parking lot in a warm orange glow. Luke was leaning against the outside of the building with his arms folded, and his head pointed up at the sky. Quietly, Julie joined him, tilting her head up to watch the clouds move. “You want to explain why you stormed out?” She asked, carefully watching him out of the corner of her eye. “I mean, you don’t have to, but I know you’ve been on edge ever since Nia showed up.”

“You noticed that?” Luke finally glanced at her, surprised, but Julie had already returned her gaze to the clouds. 

“It’s subtle, but it’s there,” she hummed. 

He sighed, “Back in high school… I never had the best relationship with my parents. I spent way too many nights crashing on Bobby’s couch because things were strained at home. Nia was too young to really get it back then, she just knew that I was angry and Mom was angry, and it could always be traced back to music. My mom… she was supportive at first, but then she started to realise music meant more to me than just a hobby, that this was my _life._ The four of us guys formed the band and my grades started slipping because I didn’t see the point in learning calculus because Sunset Curve was built for _greatness,_ we were going to be _legends…”_ Luke trailed off, trying to find the words as Julie watched him again. “And then one night near Christmas… everything got worse? She said some shitty things, I said some shitty things… and I walked out. The choice was music or being trapped my whole life in a career I hated… and I chose music. She felt like it was music or a future, and that was throwing my life away. I’ve not been back since and Nia tried to change that.” 

Julie frowned, looking back at the sky as she put the pieces together. “Nia tried to get you to go back?” 

“Usually she says the same things when she comes to visit. She didn’t bring it up this time until now but before then it was hanging over me, because I knew she was going to try again. I was waiting for it. Tonight, the other shoe dropped, I guess.”

“And here we are,” she nodded. 

“Here we are,” Luke repeated. 

They both looked up at the sky again, leaning against each other ever so slightly. Their previous stolen glances always missing each other, so that they were never looking at the same time. 

“Luke, who did you celebrate Christmas with this year?” Julie asked after a moment, not entirely changing the topic but not completely forcing him to give up much more information either. 

He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, “Uh… myself.”

“What?” She whirled on him. “What about Reggie, Alex, and Bobby?”

“Reg is finally on good terms with his dad, Alex was with his sister and her family, and Bobby was with Carrie and the rest of the Wilsons. Didn’t want to worry them, said I was with my cousin,” he mumbled.

She swatted him gently on the arm. “From now on, you’re always invited to Christmas at the Molinas’. _Always,_ Luke.” 

The door swung open and Alex’s head poked through. “We’re on in like two minutes, you good?”

“Yeah, I’ll be alright.” Luke nodded, taking a deep breath and letting his head fall on Julie’s shoulder as Alex disappeared back inside. “Thanks, Jules.”

“You ready to crush it?” She nudged him.

Finally, a small smile returned to Luke’s face. “Hell yeah. I’ll see _you_ on stage in three songs time. You coming?” 

“I’ll just be a minute,” she smiled. 

He nodded, half-through the door when he turned back. “Hey, Jules?” They both whispered, _“You got this”_ at the exact same time and Luke instantly scrunched his nose up. “Jesus, am I _that_ predictable?” 

Julie laughed and he shook his head in disbelief, leaving the door slightly ajar so that she could get back in when she wanted to. Once he had gone, she looked up at the clouds again as the sun drew closer to the horizon. She meant what she said about Christmas, although Julie was forced to admit the idea surprised her at first, but it was out of her mouth before her brain had a chance to suggest all the ways it might go wrong. Julie liked the idea of spending Christmas— multiple Christmases— with Luke, and if she had anything to say about it, then her friend would _never_ spend Christmas alone again. 

☕☕☕

“We’ve got one more song for you guys tonight,” Luke whispered to the crowd. “And we are being joined on stage by the _incredibly talented…_ Alex, drum roll? JULIE MOLINA! Where are you, Jules?” 

Julie rolled her eyes, grabbing her mic as she stepped up onto the stage. It was bigger than the small stage that was only ever there temporarily for karaoke, with several other small stages pushed together to make a space large enough for a few amps, mic stands, a keyboard, and a drum kit. “Hey,” she grinned at the guys, excitement having taken over and washed away anything that even slightly resembled nerves. “This is _Bright_.” Julie sat down behind the keyboard and took a deep breath. She could almost hear Luke whispering _‘you got this’_ again, but that might have been because he actually _did_ say it as he passed her on the stage to grab a quick sip of water before his verse. 

She ducked her head and smiled, finding Flynn’s eyes in the audience for a bit of extra reassurance before she started. 

_Sometimes I think I’m falling down_

_I wanna cry, I’m calling out_

_For one more try to feel alive_

_And when I feel lost and alone_

_I know that I can make it home_

_Fight through the dark and find the spark_

Luke supported her piano chords with a bit of guitar, and Alex and Reggie built on that further in the pre-chorus, almost drawing their energy from the anticipation of the crowd. 

_Life is a risk but I will take it_

_Close my eyes and jump_

_Together I think that we can make it_

_Come on, let’s run_

She jumped up from the piano stool as the drums, bass, and guitar came in full force.

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

Luke took the verse, just like in rehearsals, except this time not only was he backed up by Alex’s drums and Reggie’s bass, but also the crowd as Julie hyped them up even more. 

_And times that I doubted myself_

_I felt like I needed some help_

_Stuck in my head with nothing left_

_I feel something around me now_

_So unclear, lifting me out_

_I found the ground, I’m marching on_

He called Reggie over to his mic for the harmonies with a head nod, and their two voices blended together seamlessly. 

_Life is a risk but we will take it_

_Close my eyes and jump_

_Together I think that we can make it_

_Come on, let’s run_

Julie and Luke took the main vocals for the chorus, with Alex and Reggie backing them up as the two lead singers sang together, feeding off of each others’ energy almost as much as the crowd’s. 

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

Both thinking the same thing, Luke started the bridge so that Julie could finish it. _“And times that I doubted myself…”_ Julie offered him her mic, and slowly drew him into the front and centre of the stage. _“I felt like I needed some help, stuck in my head, with nothing left…”_ He nodded his head, gesturing for Julie to lean forwards towards the crowd as he did the same from slightly to the side as she took the next half of the bridge. 

_“And when I feel lost and alone, I know that I can make it home, fight through the dark, and find the spark…”_ She glanced up at him before circling around Luke as he built on the guitar part before the chorus, and they all joined in. 

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

_And rise through the night, you and I_

_We will fight to shine together_

_Bright forever_

“Julie Molina, everybody,” Luke gestured to Julie and she took a bow before doing the same for the guys. 

“And they are Sunset Curve!” 

Reggie stepped up to his mic again, running a quick hand through his sweaty hair. “Tell your friends.”


	7. What Baking Can Brew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and Luke get a surprise, and Mrs Harrison leaves the shop in the hands of several very capable employees... who have a serious amount of work to do.
> 
> yes, the chapter title is a coffee pun on the song 'what baking can do' from waitress. you're welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because I have no self-restraint, here's a double update :)

Time moved fast after the performance at Eats and Beats. Flynn created the boys several social media profiles, and when they realised there were stan accounts out there for each of them, she also declared that they had officially ‘made it’. Dirty Candi managed to score themselves a few gigs as well, and everyone one Carrie’s friends showed up to support her and her girls. Reggie started dating AJ, Willie and Alex went on what most would call a ‘date’, but they deemed it as a ‘friendly day trip’ (cue the eye rolls behind those lovestruck idiots’ backs), and everyone settled into a comfortable rhythm. 

Oh, and Julie moved apartments after the ground floor of her old building completely flooded and was declared a hazard. That combined with finals made for a pretty hectic time. By late June, she was finally settled in her new place, but with all the chaos that was involved in moving, she hadn’t had a chance to see her friends at the coffee shop, since Mrs Harrison was called away for a family event and they each had offered to take up extra shifts. When Carrie and Flynn realised how well they worked together, they started coordinating their shifts so that they matched up as much as possible, which even resulted in Carrie dropping by Julie’s old place with lattes for her and Flynn on Flynn’s day off.

Finally, without a cardboard moving box in sight, Julie flopped back onto her bed and sighed. It was quiet, there were no distance peeing matches from the apartment above (yeah, the bar was admittedly set pretty low, but as far as she knew of… that factor had been ticked off her list), and the building seemed, for the most part, structurally sound. Okay, apart from when she opened one of the cupboards and the door came away in her hand, but that seemed to be a one-off thing. 

Nothing to worry about, right? 

Exhausted, Julie was finally able to relax. She checked her watch and groaned when she realised she’d been sorting stuff out all day and it was practically midnight. Julie was all but ready to fall asleep… until the guitar started next door. 

It was funny, really, because it kind of sounded like the intro riff to _Long Weekend._ Maybe if her new neighbour was a Sunset Curve fan, she could offer to introduce them to the band if they agreed to keep their music playing before 11:30? Her legs felt filled with lead as she eased herself up off the bed, but it was fine. All it would take was a quick conversation, she’d had a long day, and if they were reasonable then they’d agree to at the very least turn the volume down. 

Grabbing her keys in case the door slammed and she got locked out (it had already happened twice already), Julie left her apartment, took two steps to the left, and knocked on the neighbour’s door. _No answer._ She rapped her fist against it again, harder this time, in case they hadn’t originally heard her over the sound of the music. 

It took three more tries before the guitar cut out and the sound of shuffling footsteps got closer. The door stuck a little at first but with a firm yank from the other side, it finally opened. “Sorry about that, it gets caught some— _Molina?”_

“Luke?!” 

No matter what Julie expected from her new neighbour, she definitely didn’t see that coming. 

☕☕☕

With Luke having crashed at Alex’s four nights in a row due to his place being closer to work, and Julie not actually having left the apartment on the day he got back, it was only fitting they ran into each other for the first time when she attempted to get him to turn his music down. All thoughts related to that were forgotten the moment she realised who her new neighbour was, and that coincidence (read: _fate,_ if you’ve ever met Mrs Harrison) was one of the best things to ever happen to either of them. 

The two started to hang out even more often than before, which ended up with them each getting emergency keys to each other’s apartments. Although more often than not, Luke just used his emergency key to Julie’s to leave cups of coffee on her kitchen counter whenever he had awkward shifts and they didn’t have a chance to chat. There were also several late-night songwriting sessions in both apartments, which lead to falling asleep on each other and waking up awkwardly a few hours later. 

The mechanic never did find out what was wrong with Julie’s car, so she ended up letting him buy it off her and scrap it for parts. 

☕☕☕

“I’m here, I’m here,” Luke pushed through the door of Mrs Harrison’s as he wiped a sweaty piece of hair from where it was clinging to his forehead. “Car broke down, but it’s fine. Alex, can I jumpstart it against yours before I leave?” 

Alex rolled his eyes, “Do I have a choice?” 

“Thanks, appreciate it,” Luke clapped him on the back as he disappeared into the breakroom, exchanging his sweaty shirt (he had to push the car for at least a block to get it to the coffee shop) for one that read _Mrs Harrison’s Coffee_ on it. He downed a bottle of water before joining Alex behind the counter. 

“We’ve got a problem,” Reggie announced, appearing from upstairs. Mrs Harrison loved all of them equally— or so she claimed— but Reggie was the only one allowed to have a key to her apartment while she was away. “You know Mrs H bakes all the stuff?” He didn’t wait for the others to nod before continuing. “She didn’t have time before she left. This is all we have left— and there’s no specific recipe.” 

“Shit,” Alex groaned. “How much do we have to bake?” 

Reggie listed the items off on his fingers, “Cookies— but I can do those— and cupcakes… oh, and the brownies, and little millionaire shortbread.” 

Luke sighed, wishing his customer a nice day before he turned back to address the problem. “We got this, it’ll be fine?” 

“Willie makes the best brownies, I might be able to ask for his help?” Alex suggested. 

“Text him,” Reggie nodded. 

Luke pulled out his phone as well, addressing the employee group chat. 

Caffeine Addicts  
  
WE HAVE A PROBLEM  
MEET HERE @ 2

He didn’t bother to check the replies, already putting his phone back and making himself a coffee. Luke had a feeling it was going to be a _long_ night. 

It wasn’t long before the others showed up, and Alex had called Willie so he arrived just before everyone else and took a seat at the counter. When they were finally all there, they were able to start delegating food. 

“Before we start…” Carrie gathered everyone’s attention. “Just to be clear, we’re letting Reggie do cookies?” It was a well-known fact that Reggie’s cookies were on par with Mrs Harrison’s, and anything she made tasted like it had come straight from heaven. There were several nods in agreement, and Reggie was shooed upstairs to get to work. “Who’s on brownies?” 

“I don’t mind doing those?” Willie shrugged.

“I’ll help,” Alex seconded. 

“I can take over a couple of shifts while you guys bake?” Flynn suggested. “It’s not too busy here, and if I need a hand I can always call Reg down.”

Carrie nodded. “Okay, so that leaves me on millionaires and Luke on cupcakes?” 

Luke protested, “Hang on, why am I on cupcakes?” 

“Would you rather be on millionaire shortbreads?” Carrie challenged, and he instantly backed down. 

Luke didn’t know the first thing about making millionaire shortbread. Cupcakes, though? He could probably handle cupcakes. “Fine, I’ll do cupcakes.” 

☕☕☕

Julie lay flat on her back on the couch, her eyes straying over to her dream box on the side. There was a song in there from when her mom first got sick that she hadn’t been able to bring herself to play yet, because of the bad memories. Sure, they caught the cancer early and they got it with a few rounds of chemo, but that didn’t make the experience any easier to relive. 

Maybe she’d be ready in a few more months. 

Yeah, that’s what Julie had been trying to tell herself for the past two years. 

_All she needed was time._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and a second round of knocks when she got to her feet. Frowning, she peered through the peephole only to find it dusted in a thin layer of white powder. “I swear, if someone tried to do cocaine against my door—” Julie muttered to herself, sliding the chain across before opening it just to be on the safe side. 

Luckily enough, it wasn’t a cocaine addict. Only Luke. 

Julie closed the door a little to unhook the chain before raising her eyebrows at the sight in front of her. 

“You’re white. Why are you white?” Julie looked her neighbour up and down in confusion as Luke hovered in her doorway, covered head to toe in a film of the same white powder that had been on the peephole.

“Oh my god, Jules, you can’t just _ask_ people why they’re white.” He shook his head, showering her in specs of what she now realised was flour. “I may have slightly overestimated my baking skills. And by _slightly_ I mean I have no idea what I’m doing. At all. Help me.” 

She breezed by the mean girls reference and grabbed her keys and phone before following him next door to the atrocity that was Luke’s kitchen. “God, you weren’t kidding. This is— _How?”_ Julie paused, her mouth open in shock. “How much flour did you use?” 

“I wasn’t entirely sure, and we need a lot of cupcakes, so… all of it.”

“ _All of it?”_

“All.” He nodded, the only thing Luke appeared to be certain of. 

Julie sighed, suppressing a laugh. She picked up a towel that was hanging up nearby and shook the flour off it before tossing it to her friend. “Go take a shower. I’ll clear up all of this and when you get back we can take it from the top. That sound good?”

“You are a literal lifesaver.” 

She smiled, rolling her eyes at him as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail. “Believe me, I know.” 

Luke disappeared, and a few minutes later Julie could hear the shower turn on in the bathroom. While he was gone, she surveyed the mess. From what she could tell had happened, Luke had tried to add all the flour at _once,_ which meant that it had basically ended up on everything within an eight-foot radius. The cupboards weren’t really organised, but she managed to find another bag of flour in the back of one of them, miraculously still in date. Then Julie set out putting the other ingredients aside while she cleared up some of the flour across every available workspace. 

There didn’t seem to be a recipe around, but Julie knew her mother’s choco-vanilla marble cake recipe by heart, so she decided to go with that. She had no idea how Luke intended to measure anything, considering he didn’t have any scales, so she disappeared back next door to grab hers from the cupboard. 

She returned at the same time as Luke, as he emerged from his room wearing a fresh cut-off and jeans, with a towel around his shoulders to catch the remaining droplets of water falling from his damp hair. He took one look at Julie as she set everything out, having already managed to familiarise herself with the locations of everything in his kitchen. Her hair had been put up out of the way with a scrunchie, but two reluctant strands of it refused to be put up and continued to frame her face. It was the little things that Luke noticed over time. Like when she wrinkled her nose while trying to hold back laughter, or nibbled on her lower lip while making a big decision. 

Or now, with her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked out how much of each of the ingredients they would need… Luke thought she had never looked more beautiful.   
  


_Stolen glances. Always missing each other._

Okay, enough of that. He had to _focus._ Mrs H’s place was going to need these cupcakes as soon as possible, and he had to deliver. “Wow,” Luke announced his presence as he pulled on an apron. 

Julie might have been slightly affected by the fact that his wet hair was still clinging to his face, or the fact that this particular cut-off drew more emphasis to his arms than any of the others, but all that was at the back of her mind from the second he put on the apron and she let out an amused laugh. “Classy apron, Patterson.” 

Luke looked down, his eyes growing wide in embarrassment. “Oh my _god._ Nia got it as a joke for me when her friends took her to Italy one summer a few years back, and Reggie uses it whenever he cooks non-microwave food. He refuses to let me in the kitchen at the same time as him because he thinks I’m a hazard, so I’ve never _actually_ seen him wearing it.” 

The apron in question had on it an image of Michelangelo’s David. In _all_ of its glory. 

Mortified as ever, Luke turned the apron inside out and put it on like that instead, quietly muttering to himself about getting a better one at the earliest opportunity. Julie snickered under her breath before guiding him towards the workspace. “Before we start, why exactly are you baking in the first place?” She asked, as she got the eggs out of the fridge. 

“You know Mrs H is away? Well, she usually makes all the baked goods for the shop… Anyway, I’m on cupcake duty, Reg is on cookies, Willie and Alex are on brownies, Carrie is doing the shortbreads and Flynn is on shift but with Reggie’s backup if she needs it,” Luke explained. 

Julie sighed, nudging him. “You should’ve come to me sooner. My family are cupcake _pros._ I practically have frosting running through my veins.” 

“You should get that checked out,” he replied in mock-seriousness, before turning his attention to the ingredients. “Alright, boss. Where are we at?” 

☕☕☕

“And you just _had_ all this stuff lying around?” Luke asked sceptically, eyeing the piping bags that Julie had filled with purple, pink, and blue icing. 

“Told you,” she pointed to herself with her free hand. “Cupcake _pro.”_ Julie finished with the decorative butterflies for the icing, before shooing Luke out of the way so that she could put the tray in the fridge. “When they harden, we can stick them in the icing for decoration,” she explained. 

He edged around her to get to the oven. “T minus two minutes until cupcakes are ready.” 

“Got it,” Julie nodded. “Where’s the cooling rack?” 

Luke raised an eyebrow, “Do I look like the kind of person who owns a cooling rack?” 

She rolled her eyes and tossed a pair of oven gloves at him. “Be right back.” 

“Again, you just _have_ one lying around?” He called after her, and she tried to stifle her laughter as she unlocked her front door for the fourth time to grab supplies. When she returned with the cooling rack, it was just in time for Luke to take the first lot of cupcakes out and put them on it, and Julie slid the next lot of cupcakes into the oven and reset the timer. 

“Baking is exhausting,” Julie sighed, flopping down onto his couch. “I love it, but it’s exhausting.” 

“How long do we leave the cakes before we ice them?” Luke asked, swinging himself over the back of the couch and dropping down next to her. 

“30 minutes, give or take. But we have to take the next lot out of the oven about ten to fifteen minutes before that anyway,” she explained as she leant against him, tucking her feet between the couch cushions to keep warm. “How the hell are we going to transport all of these cupcakes?” 

Luke paused for a second before groaning and burying his face in her shoulder, “I have no fucking clue, but we can cross that bridge when we get to it.”


	8. Bean There, Done That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Luke and Julie run into a bit of car trouble...

Julie propped her head up on her elbow against the counter at Mrs Harrison’s as Luke finished wiping down the last of the tables. She’d argued that because she helped make the cupcakes— and there were a hell of a lot of cupcakes— she should be able to eat one. They tasted as good as they looked, and they looked pretty damn good, if Julie could say so herself. 

Traffic was horrendous in the middle of the heatwave and it was a sauna during the day whilst managing to still rival the arctic at night. It was the stupid kind of weather that made you fall asleep wrapped in blankets and wake up several hours later having sweated through them. Hence why Julie had always preferred winter to summer. 

Carrie had been invited to some fancy event with her dad, and she’d brought Flynn with her for moral support, and so she could network with important music producers. The two of them had clocked off early to beat the traffic and get ready for the event at Carrie’s place, leaving Luke to lock up and Julie to get a lift back to her place with him. 

Julie had to admit, the fact that they were neighbours made it a lot easier to carpool now that she no longer owned a car. 

“Ready to head out?” Luke called over, turning the break room light off behind him. 

Julie nodded, reaching over to switch off the final main light and plunging the two of them into darkness, with only the streetlight outside shining through the window. They made their way over to Luke’s car outside, which thankfully hadn’t cut out again since that time a few days ago. She settled in the passenger seat and brought up Spotify. 

They’d settled into a routine, really. When Luke chose the music in the mornings, Julie chose it in the evenings, and vice versa. Since Luke had been designated DJ that morning, Julie hooked up her Spotify to the car through the aux cord and found a playlist that fit the mood. _I Wanna Get Better_ by Bleachers was the first song that came up on shuffle and Luke tapped his hand against the steering wheel in time to it. 

She grinned at Luke as it got to the chorus and they both jumped into action, with Julie singing the _“I didn’t know I was lonely til I saw your face”_ and Luke chiming in with _“I wanna get better, better”._ Julie wound down the window and turned up the music, letting Luke laugh as they got stuck in the traffic with everyone else. 

Who cares if they were at a standstill if the tunes were good? (That’s a Rose Molina life lesson right there.)

 _I Wanna Get Better_ faded into _Way Back Down_ by Brighter Brightest and since they weren’t moving at all, Luke was doing the accurate air version of the guitar part from memory, with Julie on the air drums beside him. 

When they got to the last song on the playlist, the two of them realised that the traffic wasn’t going anywhere. Julie queued up the second playlist as Luke stuck his head out of the open window. “This is kind of ridiculous,” he scoffed, looking around before reversing a little and doing what probably seemed like a thirteen-point-turn before he could turn the car around on the closed lane and drive in the opposite direction. 

Julie frowned, “You know home is _that_ way, right?” She pointed over her shoulder in the direction of the traffic they’d spent at least half an hour stuck in. 

“We’re taking the back way,” he replied confidently. 

She raised an eyebrow, even more sceptical. “There’s a back way?” 

“I never take it ‘cause it’s longer,” Luke explained. “But since the normal route is looking longer, I’m all for the scenic one. Music?” 

Well, what’s the worst that could happen? Julie pressed play and leant back in the seat, trailing her hand out the window and humming along to _Dog Days Are Over_ by Florence + The Machine. 

☕☕☕

Oh, so _this_ is the worst that could happen. 

The car had stopped working. 

Luke had to have taken a wrong turn or two or _seven_ because they were in the middle of _who knows where_ and it was _dark_ and they were _screwed._ The confident driver in question was currently walking in circles around the car in an attempt to get cell service, unsure where he managed to go wrong. 

Julie groaned, stopping him on his third circuit. “Give me a leg up?” He gave her a blank look in response, until she gestured to the vehicle that had gotten them into this mess. 

“You’re going to stand on my car?” 

“I’m going to try and get a bar of service. If that fails, then at least we’ve got a better vantage point so I can see if we’re anywhere near _civilisation.”_ She tutted, waiting for him to help her up. With a sigh, Luke held out his hands to give Julie a boost as she climbed onto the roof. 

“Any luck?” 

Julie pulled out her phone and held it above her head. _NO SERVICE_ flashed in the corner of her screen like a taunt and she groaned, shuffling to the edge of the car a little more while looking out at the surrounding area. They were on a side road, that much was clear, surrounded by trees mostly. There didn’t seem to be any houses nearby that they could ask for directions, or any cars for that fact either. 

They were completely stranded. 

“We came from that way, so if we want to get home we should push the car back that way, right?” Luke suggested from below, hands out to spot Julie in case she slipped. 

“You really think we can push the car all the way back? Doesn’t look like there’s much for miles,” she replied. 

He shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to push it.” 

Julie frowned, “How often do you have to push it?” 

“A lot.” 

“That… that shouldn’t happen.” 

“Yeah,” Luke shrugged again. “Probably not.” He held out his hand and Julie took it reluctantly as she climbed down from the roof, dusting off her jeans once she was back on solid ground. “You gonna help me push?” 

If Julie was wearing a hoodie (which she wasn’t, and that was a choice she was beginning to regret) she would’ve rolled up the sleeves. She sighed and walked to the front of the car with Luke before putting all her energy into pushing it. He leant against the car next to her, muscles straining as the pair of them tried to move the car forward. 

And it moved!

…Straight into a pothole. 

“I’m beginning to think we’re cursed,” Julie groaned. “Are we ever gonna get home?” 

“I can try and find help?” Luke suggested. “You can stay in the car.” 

She thumped him in the arm. “It’s pitch black in the middle of god knows where and you want to go off _by_ _yourself_ to find help? Nope, not happening. What if something happens to you? I’m coming.” 

“What if someone tries to steal the car?” Luke protested. 

Julie deadpanned, “What? The car that doesn’t work?” 

“That’s fair,” he sighed, starting to walk. “You coming, then?” 

She caught up to Luke and fell into step beside him in silence, and the two of them walked into the night. 

☕☕☕

“This… should not be possible,” Julie stared ahead of them. “I feel like screaming.” 

Nope, it was possible. In front of them, confirmed when Julie turned her phone torch on, was _the car._ They had managed to somehow go in a circle. This wasn’t happening, this _couldn’t_ be happening. 

“If you did scream,” Luke wondered out loud, “Do you think people would come to help?” 

“Maybe if I was convincing enough, and they thought I was being murdered?” 

“Are you actually considering this?” 

“Thought crossed my mind,” she confessed. 

He sighed, unlocking the car. “We’re just going to have to wait it out.” 

“And hope we don’t get murdered or kidnapped,” Julie sighed. She noticed Luke’s horrified expression in her peripheral vision and shrugged. “What? My brother Carlos went through a phase where he was _really_ into crime shows. A lot of the kidnappings start in scenarios like this.”

“How comforting,” Luke replied dryly. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked around, “Do you want to take the backseat? There’s more room to stretch out, so if you’re going to sleep then it’ll be comfier.” 

“What about you?” Julie frowned. 

He shrugged, “I’ll just sleep in the front.” 

“But that’s not going to be comfy,” she protested. “There’s no space. I’ll take the front seat.” 

“No way,” Luke argued. “You should sleep.” 

Julie sighed, “Hang on, don’t your back seats fold down to create more space in the back?”

“They might?” Luke tried, unlocking the trunk and crawling in. “There’s probably a catch around here somewhere.” 

She climbed in next to him and felt around for the catch, gently moving Luke’s guitar and Bobby’s bucket onto the front seats. Luke managed to find the button at the same time as both him and Julie were leaning on the seat, and when his hand closed around it the seat dropped down and they both fell forwards into the back of the car. 

“You found it then?” Julie laughed, her face inches from Luke’s. 

“Yeah,” he whispered, “Found it.” 

It only took ten minutes for them to sort the back of the car out enough for them both to crash there. Luke shut the trunk before climbing in from one of the back doors and stretching out in his spot next to Julie. An old jacket of his was folded up long enough to stay under both of their heads as a makeshift pillow, and the back of the car was comfier than they initially expected. His hand brushed Julie’s arm as she tried to get into a more comfortable position and Luke realised she was absolutely frozen. 

“Julie,” he tried, but she didn’t hear him, too busy running her fingers through the ends of her hair. _“Jules,”_ Luke tried again, more insistent. “You’re freezing.” 

“I’m fine, Luke,” she sighed, eyes almost giving in to tiredness. 

“Jules,” he whispered, opening his arms. “C’mere.” 

She didn’t need telling twice, and rolled into the warmth provided by her friend. This was the first time they’d fallen asleep in such close proximity and been _aware_ of it. Up until now, it had been accidental, both too preoccupied to notice what was happening until they’d drifted off. This time, it was intentional, and Luke could feel Julie’s back pressed up against his chest, and he could feel the rise and fall of each one of her breaths. His hand fell around her waist and tucked her into him, a perfect fit. 

“Night, Luke,” she mumbled, already half-asleep. 

“Night, Jules,” he whispered back, waiting until her breaths evened out before he finally allowed himself to drift off.


	9. Déjà Brew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> picking up right where we left off...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost forgot i had a chapter ready for y'all lol, here it is :)

Luke woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was the weight on one side of his chest, and the warmth radiating from the figure curled into his side. Of course she radiates warmth, Julie was like the sun. She was a star, and from the moment he met her Luke knew that it would be impossible for him not to be sucked into her orbit. He could barely feel his right arm, numb as Julie had moved in the night and ended up on top of it. Not that he minded, but as he opened his eyes slightly he could see the sunrise casting a halo around her head, which was resting on his chest.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever gotten up this early in his life, but this time it felt worth it. 

Julie’s arm was thrown across his chest, with her hand fisted in his shirt near his collarbone, almost as if to keep the two of them tethered together. 

Letting out a soft breath, Luke smiled at his best friend. He wasn’t sure when they’d become best friends exactly, maybe it was sometime around becoming neighbours— that seemed to give them the extra push, anyway— but it hadn’t taken long before they realised that they were incredibly important to each other. Ride or die, basically. 

It was like this, in these little moments, that the world could stop turning and Luke wouldn’t even notice. 

He turned his head a little to look out the window, at the slowly moving clouds, completely unaware that Julie was beginning to wake up. She winced at the light streaming through the sides of the car and squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to not have to wake up just yet. It took her a few minutes to take note of her surroundings and remember what had happened, and who she was with. 

Gently, she lifted her head up and studied Luke. His hair was messier than usual, sticking up in all odd places in that cute little bedhead sort of way. She was all-too-aware of his arm underneath her, still hooked around her waist to keep her close to his warmth. Julie let her hand relax and release his shirt from between her fingers, and that was what finally made him realise she was awake. 

“Hey,” he smiled. “Sleep well?” 

“Yeah, you?” 

“Yeah,” Luke replied softly. “You ready to find a way out of here?” 

Julie nodded, rolling off from on top of his arm to let him sit up. “Let’s go.” 

Luke climbed out through the back door while Julie located the button to lock the seats back into place. The trunk opened and she hopped out of it, moving the stuff she’d put on the front seats back into place. 

They walked for a good half hour— it was easier not to go back on themselves during the day— before Julie’s phone started to ping and all the messages started flooding in. After two more steps, Luke’s did the same, and they both celebrated having finally reached an area with good enough signal to call for help. 

Willie and Alex showed up with Willie’s cousin Dante and his tow-truck, and Luke and Alex helped Dante hook the car up to his truck while Julie and Willie watched from the side. Julie didn’t say much at first, just let Willie bring her in for a hug.

“We were worried about you guys!” He wrapped his arms around her. “Every text we sent to either of you refused to send, and then we dropped by your building and no one was home!” 

Julie shrugged, “Car troubles.” She looked Willie up and down for a second before remarking. “You’re wearing yesterday’s clothes.” 

“So are you,” he countered. 

She rolled her eyes and nudged him. “I spent the night in a car, what’s your excuse?” 

He ran a hand through his hair and looked around, refusing to meet her eyes. His gaze fell on Alex, who sent him a smile from the other side of the road, instantly making Willie’s cheeks flush. “I was with Alex. We went to that glow in the dark mini golf and skate place downtown, ended up crashing at his place,” Willie confessed. 

“And was it a date?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and he scoffed. 

“No, I already told you he doesn’t like me like that.” 

Julie thumped him in the arm repeatedly. “How dense can you be?”

“Jules!” He attempted to fend her off. “I’m not— I’m not being dense!” 

“You’re obviously into him! That’s been clear since the day you met, and even clearer since you saw him play the drums— don’t deny it, he’s objectively at his hottest when he’s on the drums— and he’s very clearly into you too!” Julie protested, still managing to keep her voice low so that Alex and Luke wouldn’t hear. 

Of course, she had no idea that Alex and Luke were having the exact same conversation.

“So… you and Willie, huh?” 

Alex’s eyes widened, “What? There is no me and—”

“Alex, I’m happy for you,” Luke threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Dude, just ask him out. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

“Uh, he could _hear_ me?” Alex spluttered.

Luke eyed him with an unimpressed expression on his face. “Did you just quote Friends?” He sighed and shook his head. “Look Alex, you’re an amazing drummer and an awesome guy. He’d be lucky to be with you… but you gotta go for it, man.” 

“When?” Alex sighed, risking a glance at Willie as he tried to stop Julie’s oncoming attacks.

“Now!” Luke used the fact that his arm was around Alex’s shoulders to guide him towards the other two, before giving him an extra nudge towards Willie and gesturing for Julie to join him a few feet away. She caught on instantly, following him out of the way and trying to eavesdrop from a distance. 

Alex rubbed his hands together nervously. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Willie laughed. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering…” Alex trailed off, throwing a look over Willie’s shoulder at Luke who was rapidly gesturing for him to continue. “If you’d want to do something like what we did yesterday again."

“Yeah bro, that’d be awesome. When do you want—”

“But make it a date this time.”

Willie froze, his eyes widening. “Alex—”

“If you don’t want to,” Alex backtracked, “That’s cool too.”

He shook his head, “No. _Definitely._ I will 100% go on a date with you. We can date. We can do that. I want to do that.”

Alex let out a sigh of relief, “Really?”

“Dude of _course.”_

Julie and Luke fist-bumped quietly to celebrate. 

☕☕☕

After getting back home and changing into some fresh clothes, Julie decided to pay Flynn a visit while she was on shift to prove (despite two phone calls and several text messages) that she was alive and well. Since Luke had been forced to spend ages going through paperwork for the necessary repairs his car required, she slipped out of the building without him and got the bus down to Mrs Harrison’s. 

Flynn dragged her into a hug the second she saw her walk through the door, before guiding her into the seat next to Carrie at the counter— for once, Carrie was there despite not being on shift— and asked for her to recount the previous night’s events. 

“And you spent the night in the car cuddled up to Luke Patterson?” Carrie smirked. “Wow.” 

“What?” Julie frowned. “It was cold.” 

Flynn and Carrie shared an identical look before turning back to her and raising their eyebrows. “Sure it was.” 

She scowled at them. “Enough about me. How was your night? That music thing sounded interesting.” 

“It was… eventful,” Carrie smirked at Flynn. 

Julie glanced at them, puzzled. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Hey, you wanna see some of the photos?” Flynn redirected the conversation, flashing Carrie a pointed look as Julie unlocked the phone and scrolled through the camera roll. She slid someone’s drink across the counter to them before rejoining Julie and Carrie and pointing at one of the photos. “That’s the back of Shawn Mendes’ head,” she grinned. “He’s talking to Andi Parker from Destiny Management. We exchanged business details.” 

“Andi did it to humour her,” Carrie joked via stage whisper. 

“She’s just jealous I have Andi’s number and she doesn’t,” Flynn added, also via stage whisper. Carrie rolled her eyes and laughed. 

“You wouldn’t have that number if I hadn’t taken you.” 

Flynn scowled in response, but there wasn’t any actual annoyance behind it, not like when she’d _first_ started working with Carrie. 

☕☕☕

With her headphones in and _All Eyes On Me_ blaring, she didn’t notice the first tap on her shoulder as she got off the bus. Julie was barely paying any attention to her surroundings, so she continued to miss the third and fourth attempts to get her attention as well, but when the figure that had been trying to reach her appeared in front of her, with the same smile on his face that she used to love… Julie was snapped out of her daydream. _Forcefully._

“Isaac? What a lovely surprise,” she feigned interest, “It’s been a while, what have you been up to?” 

“Oh…” Her ex looked around absent-mindedly. “Not much. I _am_ engaged, though.” He waved someone over and the moment she arrived, laced their fingers together to put the engagement ring on full display. Julie was surprised the woman’s finger didn’t fall off if it had to hold the weight of _that_ rock. And then Julie’s gaze travelled up the wrist, along the arm, and she almost choked on the air she was attempting to suck into her lungs when she realised who it was. 

Her ex was planning on marrying the woman he hooked up with after they broke up. 

_Unless they’d been dating for longer than that._ Julie desperately tried not to entertain the possibility. 

“Oh, that’s nice,” she tried and failed to muster a smile. “As long as you aren’t rushing things. When’s the wedding?”

“It’s no rush at all, really,” Isaac crooned. “I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you about that, I was saving you a seat?” He pulled out the lavish wedding invitation and if Julie had any sense left in her brain— it always seemed to temporarily evaporate whenever Isaac was involved— she’d have torn it up there and then and walked away, proving that she didn’t need him in her life and he could be happily married _somewhere else_ and stay the fuck away from her. 

But she took it. “Do I get a plus one?” 

“Oh, are you bringing a boyfriend? Girlfriend?” Isaac’s fiancée asked curiously. 

Julie pocketed the envelope and smiled. “I guess you’ll have to see.” 

It was the only answer she could give, really, considering she didn’t actually have _any fucking clue_. 

With that, Julie pushed past them and continued the walk back to her apartment building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all know what's coming, right? ;)


	10. A Score To Kettle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so i think we all know where this is heading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i considered waiting until tomorrow to post this, then i realised it IS tomorrow, i'm just sleep-deprived and up after midnight. i was going to post it around lunch time, but you can have it early in case i suddenly and unexpectedly go missing. 
> 
> translation: my 5000 word essay is due in two days and i am only 15% of the way through. pray for me, and if the next update is delayed it's because i'm in the process of faking my death and moving to italy. tell no one.

Julie didn’t know what she’d been thinking. She hadn’t even looked at the date on the card yet. As she stormed into her apartment, slamming the door behind her, she pulled the intricately designed invitation out of her pocket. _What kind of power move was this? Inviting your ex to your wedding?_ They weren’t even on good terms, she hadn’t even heard from him since the breakup. 

He had some nerve doing this, that’s for sure. Flynn would probably egg his Subaru after this, and she had a feeling the others might join her— especially Carrie. 

God, she was _such_ an idiot. And to make matters worse, when Julie checked her calendar she was _actually_ _free._ She had zero plans. Sure, she could make plans… but was she willing to give him the satisfaction of her not showing up? 

_No._ Julie made her decision. She had to go through with this. Which meant she needed to get a date. But not a real date, someone to pretend to date her, someone she could trust. Not some random person that would think this was weird, because this was a _completely_ logical scenario. 

She groaned and picked up the nearest small object, hurling it at the wall in frustration. There was a crash and some small part of her brain registered that there was now an object sticking out of the wall, and that object was a knife, and it was probably there because she’d thrown it. Admittedly, that might not have been the _best_ idea. The knife now stuck out of the wall at an angle, and Julie’s surprise at her own strength was quickly replaced by the realisation of _shit, there’s now a hole in my wall._

_In the wall she shared with Luke._

Almost as if he’d been summoned, Luke fell through the door, barely able to get it open fast enough. “I heard a crash, you okay?” He panted, before following Julie’s gaze to the knife. “Did you do that? _Shit.”_

Julie sighed, leaving Luke without an answer and instead choosing to flop face down on the couch and let out an inhuman scream. 

When she looked up again, Luke was lying on his side on the floor next to her, propped up on one elbow. “What did you do?” 

She scowled at him. “What do you mean _‘what did I do’?_ Why do you have to assume _I_ did something?” 

“You have two distinct ‘oh shit’ sounds, Jules. One is when someone else fucks up, and you think you’re going to have to fix it. The other— this one— is when _you_ have done something and immediately started to regret it,” he replied pointedly, nudging her along to sit next to her on the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. 

“I hate that you know that,” she sighed. “Also, _feet,_ Lucas.” 

He raised his hands in surrender and kicked his shoes off before resting his feet back on the coffee table. “And _that_ is your ‘Luke’s being a pain again’ face.” She managed a smile and an eye roll at that, and he nudged her again. “Ha! Knew that’d make you smile. C’mon, whatever’s going on can’t be as bad as you think it is. What did you do?” 

“I got invited to my ex’s wedding. And I said I’d go.” She groaned, and Luke scrunched his face up. He opened his mouth to say something but Julie raised a finger to cut him off. “Yeah, that’s not all. I also told him I’d be bringing a date.” 

“Could be worse,” Luke shrugged.

Julie pitched to the side and buried her face in his shirt. “How could this _possibly_ be worse? I have to find someone willing to pretend to be my date for my ex's wedding without sounding like an absolute weirdo! And he knows Flynn, so she can’t do it.” 

“I’ll do it then.” 

She sat upright, staring at him. “You will?” 

“Yeah.” Luke pried the now-crumpled invite out of Julie’s hand gently. “I’ll switch my shift or something, and we can go to the wedding together. He doesn’t deserve someone like you, Jules. You’re awesome! We can show that asshole what he’s missing, alright?” 

Julie threw her arms around him, tackling Luke onto the sofa in what could probably count as one of the fiercest hugs he’d ever received. “Thank you!” 

“No problem,” he laughed. “Just one question, what does this involve, exactly?” 

“You pretend to be my date,” she replied with a shrug. “But we have to dress up— it is a wedding.” Julie rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, that means _sleeves_ are a requirement,” she joked, prodding his bicep. 

Luke groaned dramatically, “Is it too late to back out?” 

She scoffed, “Yep. You’re stuck with me.” 

“I suppose there could be worse people to be stuck with,” he grinned. 

☕☕☕

The next few months went by quicker than Julie expected. She had to find herself a dress and Luke a suit for the wedding, so they took a day shopping accompanied by Carrie, Alex, Flynn, Reggie, and Willie. In the end, Julie settled on a black sparkly dress that ended just above her knees and a pair of boots to match, and the group managed to find Luke a nice enough white shirt and smart black trousers to wear with it, along with a tie. 

Flynn and Carrie offered to drop them off in Carrie’s car, treating the whole thing like they were parents letting their kids go to prom. 

“Squeeze together before we go?” Flynn pouted, “Come on, just one more photo?” 

Julie raised an eyebrow, eyeing her friend. “This is ridiculous.” 

“Yeah, let’s get to the wedding already— I want to meet this Isaac dude,” Luke bounced on the balls of his feet, itching to take his suit jacket off. 

She turned to him. “Don’t do anything stupid.” 

“Me? Stupid? Never,” Luke grinned. “Relax, Julie. I’m not gonna do anything.” 

“Famous last words,” Carrie coughed, trying to hide her smirk. “Alright, your chariot awaits.” 

Luke and Julie slid into the back of Carrie’s car as Flynn got into the passenger seat in the front and Carrie pulled out of their apartment building’s crappy parking garage. “So,” Flynn glanced back at the pair in the back seat. “What’s your backstory? You’re in a fake relationship, so how’d it happen? Who asked out who?” 

Julie shrugged, “I guess we say we met how we did. It’s easier that way.”

“If it weren’t for him, we never would’ve met,” Luke raised an eyebrow. 

She rolled her eyes, “Flynn literally works with you. I’d have run into you one way or another.” 

“Nope, it was _fate,”_ he decided. “Fate, and your jackass of an ex.” 

Julie laughed. “Alright. So that’s how we met. How did we get together?” 

“After we performed _Bright_ at Eats and Beats,” Luke replied confidently. “We kissed while on the performance high. Then you moved next door to me when the place became available because you couldn’t stand missing me so much from all the way across town?”

She snorted, “I _did_ miss you, but I distinctly remember when we discovered we were neighbours you were the one who swept me into a hug because _you_ missed _me.”_

“Young love,” Carrie sighed in mock wistfulness from the driver’s seat. “Adorable.” 

Flynn turned the radio on just in time, singing along to OneRepublic. _“And it kills me to know that you found somebody to love, somebody to love.”_

Julie rolled her eyes and laughed as they all joined in, but Luke was overly dramatic as he sang, _“Tell me how can I go on without somebody to love, somebody to love…”_

☕☕☕

In true Isaac style (because let’s be honest, the man had money to _spare)_ the wedding was incredibly elaborate. I took place in an old hotel with intricate carvings and stone pillars and well, the complete works really. Like something straight out of a fantasy, if you’d thought it could happen at a wedding… chances are, it was at this one.

“God, can you imagine performing here? The acoustics must be incredible,” Luke took in the place as they walked in, staring in wonder. 

“Of course you’d instantly think of that,” Julie laughed. 

_“Imagine,_ Jules,” he put his hands on her shoulders and guided her into the centre of the reception area. “Close your eyes… think of it.” 

She did as asked and closed her eyes. Imagining what would happen was easy, easy as ever to slip into the daydream. _Finally Free_ was on the tip of her tongue and Julie smiled, thinking of her and the band performing in this kind of space. 

_Hearts on fire_

_We’re no liars_

_So we say what we wanna say_

_I’m awakened, no more faking, so we push all our fears away_

_Don’t know if I’ll make it ‘cause I’m falling down under_

_Close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder_

Julie spread her arms out, barely realising that she had begun singing the lyrics softly to herself, and even more oblivious of Luke’s fond smile as he watched. _“I wanna fly, come alive, watch me shine…”_

She only realised that she was singing out loud when Luke joined in, and soon they were dancing about and laughing in the reception area, singing an a cappella version of _Finally Free._

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now till eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

Julie took the second verse like in rehearsals, and to make up for his lack of guitar and her lack of tambourine, Luke clicked his fingers in time to the beat they were both imagining. 

_We’re all bright now, what a sight now_

_Coming out like we’re fireworks_

_Marching on proud, turn it up loud_

_‘Cause now we know what we’re worth_

A small crowd had gathered, watching the two of them from a distance. They were partly admiring the music, but mostly amused that Julie and Luke were in their own little world, barely paying any attention to their surroundings at all. 

_We know we can make it_

_We’re not falling down under_

_Close my eyes and feel my chest_

_Beating like thunder_

_I wanna fly_

_Come alive_

_Watch me shine_

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now till eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

Julie leaned towards Luke, her voice quiet. _“I got a spark in me.”_

_“I got a spark in me,”_ he echoed. 

_“And you’re a part of me.”_

_“And you’re a part of me.”_

_“Now till eternity,”_ Julie grinned, taking a step back and spinning. 

_“Now till eternity…”_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now till eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

A couple of the old couples that had been watching gave them light applause as they finished, dispersing as Luke and Julie leant on each other, laughing and sighing to themselves. 

“Well, I guess I can tick ‘putting on an impromptu a cappella performance of a song I co-wrote, at a wedding where I’m the fake date of my best friend’ off the old bucket list,” he whispered to her, causing Julie to erupt into a fit of giggles. 

“Shall we take our seats?” She suggested, gesturing towards the room. 

“M’lady,” he held out his arm, raising an eyebrow teasingly. 

Julie rolled her eyes, hooking her arm through his, “Lead the way.” 

☕☕☕

The procession was nothing special. Well, apart from the fact that the bride’s veil had to be carried by seven people as she made her way down a large staircase at the side of the room, going all the way to the back of the room before looping around again to walk up the actual aisle. Julie had to admit she looked beautiful, and she felt a small twinge of guilt at not actually knowing the name of the bride whose wedding she was at. Then she remembered why she was there, and the guilt evaporated almost instantly. 

Throughout the ceremony, Luke kept whispering things in her ear. Nothing special, just distractions to keep her sane. He kept subtly pointing to other guests and trying to guess their coffee orders. It couldn’t draw Julie’s attention away from the actual wedding, but she appreciated the effort all the same. Especially when he pointed out that one of the groomsmen was significantly turned on by the kiss after the ring exchange (and was unsuccessfully trying to hide it), which led to Julie leaning against his shoulder shaking and crying tears of silent laughter. 

They got drinks afterwards, before making their way to the dance floor for a bit. 

That is, until Isaac and his _wife_ — Gemma, Julie now knew her name— started making the rounds to see and speak to all of the guests. Isaac locked eyes with Julie, and then his gaze drifted to Luke before he started to make a beeline for them. Julie panicked, looking around towards the exit before using Luke’s shirt to pull him down towards her so she could whisper in his ear, “They’re coming, and I just decided I’m not drunk enough to talk to them just yet.” 

“Got it,” Luke nodded, “This way.” He slipped his hand into hers before tugging her along one of the corridors and around a corner. There was an alcove under one of the staircases and they both fit snugly inside, and Julie allowed herself to relax once she heard the footsteps receding. 

“Thanks,” she wrapped her arms around Luke as much as the small space would manage, resting her head against his chest. “The wedding itself, it’s not that bad, but there was a brief moment in time last year when I thought ours would be something like this…” 

“I get it,” he sighed. “Anyway, your wedding would have much better music than this. Credit to the band, they’re doing okay, but the setlist, _god,_ you definitely have better taste than this lot. Hands down.” 

Julie let out a laugh, “Let me guess, you want Sunset Curve to play at my wedding?” 

“If you’ll have us,” Luke nudged her.

She was about to reply with a joke, but Julie’s breath caught in her throat as Isaac’s footsteps returned, with his wife in tow. Her whole body tensed up and Luke wrapped his arms around her protectively. 

“Isaac!” Gemma growled. “ISAAC JASON ONION IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP—” 

Julie had to clamp her hand down over Luke’s mouth to stop him from laughing. _“Onion?”_ came his muffled snort from under her closed fingers. “His surname is _Onion?_ _Her_ name is now _Onion?_ ”

“Were you not listening to the ceremony?” She hissed back, rolling her eyes. 

“Not really!” 

“What, Gem?” Isaac sighed, and Julie realised they’d stopped right in front of their alcove, except a bit to the left. It was a miracle they hadn’t been spotted. If she pushed herself against Luke a little more, she could just about see the back of Isaac’s head. 

“You’re being ridiculous.” Julie could tell from the tone of Gemma’s voice that she wasn’t pleased. So much for the ‘happy couple’. “Cut the girl loose already, it’s not a game. You weren’t interested in her enough back then not to cheat on her with me— which, thanks for not telling me about until afterwards, by the way— so why do you care what she thinks now?”

Julie’s hand slipped from Luke’s face and she felt him tense up next to her, about to push his way out of the alcove and give Isaac a piece of his mind. She shook her head vehemently, catching hold of his wrist with a pleading look on her face. That was probably the only reason he didn’t move. 

“Gem, it’s not like that, I promise…”

“Whatever, let’s just get back to the party. Torture her on your own damn time, I have relatives to thank.” The comment was followed by the telltale sound of someone in high heels stalking off as Gemma hauled her skirts up to walk away. 

Isaac cursed and ran after her. 

As soon as they were gone, Julie took a tentative step out of their hiding place. When she was sure Isaac was nowhere in sight, she hugged herself tightly and tried not to let the tears leak from her eyes. 

“Jules, hey,” Luke whispered softly, his fingers catching hers to force her to look at him. “Forget about him. He’s an asshole.”

“Let’s… let’s just leave,” she sighed. “Let’s just get out of here. He won. I don’t want to be here anymore. I’m going to get my coat.” 

Luke shook his head. _“Julie._ We came here to show him that he can’t get to you anymore. You’ve moved on, you’re over him.” 

“He was _lying_ to me Luke! I let them convince me he was planning something for us to protect my own feelings, but he was _lying_ and he was _sneaking around_ and he was with _her.”_ She snapped. “I’m going to grab my coat, call Flynn, and then we’re going to leave, okay? Please?” Julie didn’t wait for an answer, already disappearing down the corridor. 

Luke groaned, resisting the urge to slam his fist into the wall next to him— that, or Isaac’s head— and followed her back towards the crowd of people in the main room. But when Julie went right to the coat check, he turned left and walked towards the stage. As much as he wanted to humiliate Isaac for what he did to Julie, Luke wanted to help her first. He wasn’t going to have her memories of tonight be tainted with what she just learned. She deserved to have fun in spite of Isaac and his douchey actions. 

“Hey, can I borrow that?” Luke grabbed the lead singer of the band’s mic without waiting for an answer. He tapped it to test it, “This thing working? Okay. Julie! Julie Molina!” He looked around. “I know you’re still here, Jules. C’mon. Does this count as something stupid?” 

Ready to go and with her jacket already on, Julie’s finger was hovering over the call button when she heard his voice. She had been about to ask Flynn to come and pick them up, but she hesitated as Luke sent her a hopeful look from the stage. 

She walked towards where he was hovering, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Julie stopped in the middle of the room to mouth, “Luke, what the hell are you doing?” 

“Uhh—” Admittedly, he hadn’t really thought that far ahead. The first part of his plan was to stop Julie from leaving… After that, he had to think on his feet. “One second.” Luke shed his stuffy suit jacket, undid his top shirt button and loosened his tie, letting it hang around his neck instead of choking him. When the perfect song hit him, he covered the mic with one hand and leant back to the band, whispering it to them. 

Considering the wedding had been pretty boring so far— and their thoughts on the setlist were similar to Luke’s, because it really was awful— they were happy to oblige. Julie raised an eyebrow at him from below and Luke shot her a grin before nodding at the band to start. _“Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…”_

Julie’s jaw dropped.

_“Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah… Never had much faith in love or miracles…”_

Isaac had noticed from the other end of the room, and he was staring at Luke, horrified, while Gemma tried to conceal her amusement. 

“Who in God’s name is that?” The mother of the bride asked, appalled. 

_Never wanna put my heart on the line_

_But swimming in your world is something spiritual_

_I’m born again every time you spend the night_

Luke jumped off the stage, making his way towards her with a smirk. 

_‘Cause your sex takes me to paradise_

_Yeah, your sex takes me to paradise_

_And it shows…_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

He took her hand and walked backwards, miraculously avoiding bumping into any of the other guests, tables, or chairs. 

_‘Cause you make me feel like_

_I’ve been locked out of heaven_

Luke tipped the mic towards her challengingly, and he knew from the smile that crossed only Julie’s face his plan was working. _“For too long, for too long…”_ she conceded. He continued. 

_Yeah, you make me feel like_

_I’ve been locked out heaven_

_“For too long, for too long,”_ Julie grinned, following him up onto the stage as the guests started clapping along to the beat. 

_Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

He dropped to his knees in front of her dramatically, clutching the mic as he sang. 

_You bring me to my knees, you make me testify_

_You can make a sinner change his ways_

Luke jumped to his feet with practised ease, from all the times he’d dropped into a knee slide in past Sunset Curve performances. He grabbed Julie’s hand and twirled her under his arm, desperate to make her face light up again like it had when he’d first dragged her up on stage with him. 

_Open up your gates_

_‘Cause I can’t wait to see the light_

_And right there is where I wanna stay_

_‘Cause your sex takes me to paradise_

_Yeah, your sex takes me to paradise_

Julie grabbed the mic out of his hand and Luke’s heart fluttered as she walked towards him, causing him to back up until he was almost on top of one of the amps. 

_And it shows_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_‘Cause you make me feel like_

_I’ve been locked out of heaven_

_For too long_

_For too long_

She held the mic between them, and he sang with her. 

_Yeah, you make me feel like_

_I’ve been locked out of heaven_

_For too long_

_For too long_

_Oh, woah, whoa, woah_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Can I just stay here?_

_Spend the rest of my days here?_

_Oh, woah, whoa, woah_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Can I just stay here?_

_Spend the rest of my days here?_

Luke grabbed another mic, leaning towards Julie as the instruments died down, only slightly supporting his voice as he took over. _“‘Cause you make me feel like I’ve been locked out of heaven…”_ For a second— _just_ a second— his eyes darted down to her lips before making eye contact again. _“For too long, for too long…”_

_Yeah, you make me feel like_

_I’ve been locked out of heaven_

Julie held Luke’s gaze. _Did she imagine that? Or did he just—_ _“For too long, for too long…”_ She cut in.

_Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, yeah, yeah_

_Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

They finished inches apart, almost breathing each other’s air as the room erupted into applause. All except for Isaac, of course, who was mortified. Julie’s face broke into a grin, and it only took two seconds before Luke was wearing a matching expression. “Screw him,” he whispered, his mic put aside and their conversation private. _“We_ decide what happens tonight. We aren’t here for him, we’re here for _you._ It’s all on you, Jules. You decide what happens next. Screw him, alright?”

“Screw him,” Julie repeated, her grin growing wider. “We are going to improve this god-awful setlist, we are going to get absolutely _hammered_ on Isaac’s tab at the bar, and then we’re going to take half the cake home with us. Sound like a plan?” 

“I’m right here with you, boss,” Luke rolled up his sleeves and nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, this isn't the last of the wedding  
> i'm pretty sure quite a bit of the next chapter is the wedding too


	11. The Ends Justify The Beans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wedding part 2
> 
> yes i had to include drivers licence because i'm obsessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay yeah, this chapter is early. but it's because i don't know when the next one's coming. it's not that i don't have the motivation, i do! i love this story and i want to finish it, and i know where i want it to go... but something happened and it's really shaken me up so honestly i don't know when i'll next be online. i might come back and use writing to cope with it, i might not, but i'm posting this now and i hope you guys enjoy it because i literally don't know what to do with myself right now and i'm going to take some time for myself.

Julie took off her jacket and hung it over a nearby chair. Luke was right. It was her decision on how she played this from this point. Either she could let Isaac ruin her night, or she could force him to watch her having fun at his wedding, which was essentially the closest thing to publicly flipping him the bird, in her opinion. 

“You guys know Amy Winehouse?” She nodded to the band. “Valerie?” 

The bassist nodded. “Do what you gotta do.” 

She grinned as the drummer counted them in, picking up her mic again as she walked across the stage. 

_Well, sometimes I go out by myself_

_And I look across the water_

_And I think of all the things, what you’re doing_

_And in my head I paint a picture_

Luke raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, walking up to him. 

_‘Cause since I’ve come on home_

_Well, my body’s been a mess_

_And I miss your ginger hair_

_And the way you like to dress_

_Won’t you come on over_

_Stop making a fool outta me?_

_Why don’t you come on over, Valerie?_

_Valerie, Valerie, Valerie_

She nudged Luke and he had no problem with taking over. 

_Did you have to go to jail?_

_Put your house up for sail_

_Did you get a good lawyer?_

_I hope you didn’t catch a tan_

_I hope you found the right man who’ll fix it for ya_

Julie threw a smug glance at Isaac, and it was more than a little satisfying to see his new _wife_ enjoying the performance. 

_Are you shopping anywhere_

_Changed the colour of your hair?_

_Are you busy?_

_And did you have to pay that fine you was dodging all time?_

_Are you still dizzy?_

Luke held his mic out of the way and leant in to share Julie’s as they both sang the pre-chorus. 

_‘Cause since I’ve come on home_

_Well, my body’s been a mess_

_And I miss your ginger hair_

_And the way you like to dress_

_Won’t you come on over_

_Stop making a fool outta me?_

_Why don’t you come on over, Valerie?_

_Valerie, Valerie, Valerie_

Julie jumped down from the stage and walked over to the nearest table, stepping up onto one of the chairs and then the table itself. _“Well, sometimes I go out by myself, and I look across the water…”_

Luke copied her, ending up on a table a few feet away. _“And I think of all the things, what you’re doing, and in my head I paint a picture…”_

She danced from chair to chair, aiming for the table where the two of them to meet in the middle as she sang, _“‘Cause since I’ve come on home, well my body’s been a mess…”_

 _“And I miss your ginger hair, and the way you like to dress…”_ Luke caught on immediately, no words needing to be exchanged as he used the scattered chairs as steps to get to Julie as she beckoned him over. 

_Won’t you come on over_

_Stop making a fool outta me?_

_Why don’t you come on over, Valerie?_

_Valerie, Valerie, Valerie_

_Valerie, Valerie, oh, Valerie_

They finally met on the middle table, and when Julie’s heel slipped on one of the napkin rings and she stumbled, Luke’s arm wrapped around her waist and disguised it as him dipping her as the song finished. _“Why don’t you come on over, Valerie?”_ He brought her up and Julie flicked a stray piece of hair out of her face. “Nailed it,” she whispered. 

Luke let out a laugh. “Hell yeah we did.” 

☕☕☕

They covered two more songs: _Drive By_ by Train, and _By Myself_ by FIDLAR. Both had Isaac seething and the rest of the guests dancing. Isaac glared at them from where he sat at the head table with Gemma, who was massaging her foot after wearing heels for so long. Julie couldn’t blame her, she kicked her heels off at least half an hour ago. They were around here somewhere, she was sure of it. 

For lack of seats at the bar as the night wound down, Julie was sitting in Luke’s lap. It wasn’t weird, right? They were “dating” for as long as this wedding lasted, and it wasn’t usual for her to end up half on top of him when a few of their friends all tried to squeeze onto the same sofa and one of their apartments. She had one arm slung around his shoulders for balance, and one of Luke’s arms rested lightly around her waist to keep her from slipping off.

“You ready to go yet?” Luke whispered, his eyes half-closed, exhausted from their performance and the whole wedding in general. Weddings were tiring as hell. 

“One more dance?” She suggested, smiling up at him. 

He laughed, nodding slowly. “One more dance.” 

The band had packed up and were playing a pre-arranged playlist, so as the song slipped into _Loud Places_ by Jamie xx, Julie slid off Luke’s lap and tugged on his hand until he stood up and put his drink down, following her onto the dance floor. Julie wasn’t barefoot exactly, but she was wearing those little sock things that aren’t quite socks, and it made Luke laugh a little when he noticed. He took her hand in his and let his other hand fall to her waist as she put a hand on his shoulder, but the traditional slow dance didn’t last long before she was leaning completely against him, face buried in his shirt as they swayed to the music. 

The next song to come on was _drivers license_ by Olivia Rodrigo, and it was indescribably perfect. Their ‘one more dance’ had already turned into two, but neither found themselves inclined to move. Whether it was tiredness and muscle memory, or a need to be close to each other for a while, neither of them minded, or were able to wipe the smiles from their faces. 

_And I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one_

_And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone_

_Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me_

_‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street_

Isaac was Isaac. He was an asshole, and he was married now, and Julie actually felt a little sorry for Gemma to have to put up with him. But she couldn’t find it in herself to care anymore. Coming here, to his wedding, that was _it._ She didn’t care anymore. That was mostly thanks to Luke, and his ability to turn anywhere into a stage (aside from the fact that there was already a stage there). 

_Red lights, stop signs_

_I still see your face in the_

_White cars, front yards_

_Can’t drive past the places_

_We used to go to_

_‘Cause you know I still love you, babe_

Luke was Luke. He was an amazing friend, and she was standing on his feet as they danced because she’d left her shoes god knows where inside this fantasy of a building, and not many people would have agreed to be their best friend’s fake date for their ex’s wedding but he _did_ because he’s _Luke_ and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. 

_Sidewalks, we crossed_

_I still hear your voice_

_In the traffic, we’re laughing_

_Over all the noise_

_God, I’m so blue_

_Know we’re through_

_But you know I still love you, babe_

He looked down at Julie, completely content in the same place she’d been ready to leave a few hours ago. A ghost of a smile crept across his face and he sighed, thinking back to that night in the car. They shouldn’t fit together so well, by all laws of the universe she _shouldn’t_ fit against him like they’re parts of the same puzzle but she _does_ and it’s perfect. Because Julie’s always perfect. 

Luke wanted to kiss her. 

He realised it suddenly. He had a slight crush on his best friend and he wanted to kiss her. He’d wanted to kiss her earlier too, while they were singing. 

But he couldn’t do it tonight. 

Because tonight was about _her._

So he stayed quiet, and he danced with her. 

☕☕☕

It was near one in the morning when Carrie and Flynn showed up. Well, Julie saw Carrie, and she knew Flynn was in the vicinity, but she wasn’t quite sure where she was. She’d managed to grab her jacket and recover her shoes but she couldn't be bothered to put either of them back on, but that was fine since Luke’s suit jacket was wrapped around her shoulders anyway. Carrie climbed out of the car and folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Eventful?” 

“You could say that,” Julie laughed. 

“I’ll be right back,” Luke decided firmly, disappearing back into the building. 

Julie frowned, the bad part of the night already a distant memory. What could he _possibly_ be going back for?

He weaved through the drunk guests until he found Isaac. “You,” he pointed at him, moving another guest aside. “You are an idiot. You had her, and you lost her, but you never deserved her in the first place,” he spat. “There is no one else on this earth like Julie Molina, and there’s something seriously wrong with you if you couldn’t see that.” 

“What’s it even matter to you?” Isaac snorted. “You’re with her now. If I hadn’t dumped her, that probably wouldn’t have happened.” 

“Luke?” Julie frowned, appearing behind him. “So this is what you went back for?” 

He scratched the back of his neck uneasily. “Yeah.” 

“Don’t bother,” she shook her head, “He’s not worth your time. But…” she trailed off, marching up to Isaac. “Thanks for the invite! Lovely wedding, had one _hell_ of a time. Although maybe that’s because my date is awesome, and you… leave a little to be desired. Hope you have a lasting marriage. Or not. I don’t actually care. Come on, Luke,” Julie hooked her arm through his and marched off triumphantly, only briefly pausing at the door to shout back: “Fuck you! Goodnight!” and flip him her middle finger. 

Okay, so maybe the last part was due to the fact that she was a little drunk. But it’s not like she regretted it. 

They joined Carrie on the way back to the car and she smirked at them. “We leaving now?”

“Yeah, we’re leaving,” Luke confirmed. 

“Good,” she replied, opening the box she was carrying. “Because I stole the entire second layer of their cake, and we have about thirty seconds before they realise that.” 

“I have never admired you more as a person until right now,” Flynn sighed wistfully, appearing on Carrie’s other side. 

Luke laughed, “Where the hell did you go?” 

“Where do any of us really go?” She replied cryptically. 

They piled into the car unceremoniously and Julie dozed off on the back seat with her head resting on Luke’s shoulder. Carrie and Flynn helped take both of them upstairs but since they couldn’t figure out which key was which, they managed to unlock Julie’s apartment and get her into bed, with Luke passed out on the fold-out couch. The cake sat on the side of Julie’s kitchen counter for the morning. 

The next day, Julie got a text from an unknown number with a photo attached. Three decorative pebbles resting in front of the windscreen wipers of a car, with the words _WATCH YOUR BACK_ scrawled on them in pink lipstick. The actual message read: “Your friends are crazy, I love them. Hope you enjoy the cake - Gemma.” She forwarded it to the others with a smile. _Yeah, they’re crazy. I love them too._


	12. Words Cannot Espresso How Lucky I Am (To Have Met You)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know what to say. Your well-wishes and support in the comments on the last chapter literally blew my mind. Y'all really got me crying happy tears instead of sad ones and I'm so damn grateful for all of you readers :) Writing is still hard at the moment, but I'm easing back into it bit by bit, and I'm getting there. So here's a chapter, and more will be coming your way soon. Thank you for waiting :)

Luke woke up with the worst headache after the best night, realised he was on Julie Molina’s couch, and went straight back to sleep. It wasn’t until he rolled off the couch and almost hit his head on the coffee table that he decided to actually get up. He slid along the floor in his socks to her kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. He was familiar by now with the layout of the cupboards and made his way around easily almost as if he were at home himself. Well, close enough. 

For some reason, he had _This Band Is Back_ stuck in his head— one of the first songs they’d written in high school to cheer up Reggie after his parents had a particularly bad fight. It had become tradition to use it since, when one of the boys needed cheering up, or if they were really excited about something. Basically, the song came up a lot. 

_Woah… this band is back. Woah…_

Unable to stop himself, Luke hummed softly as he spun around the kitchen in his socks. He grinned when he saw the cake, two slices missing already which Carrie and Flynn must have taken on their way out. He cut himself a slice and put it on one of Julie’s plates before collapsing back onto the couch. 

“Don’t drop cake between the couch cushions,” Julie mumbled as she cracked an eyelid open. 

“What?” Luke turned around, glancing over his shoulder at Julie as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. 

She took in his messy hair and half-asleep expression before sighing and rolling out of bed. “I said, _don’t drop cake between the couch cushions.”_ Julie dropped down on the couch next to him and ‘borrowed’ his plate, much to Luke’s horror, and started eating his cake. 

“That’s _my_ cake,” he pointed out. 

“And you got it from _my_ ex’s wedding,” she teased. “Besides, there’s more.” 

Luke broke a small piece off, tossing it into his mouth before putting his hand over his heart. “Sharing is caring, Julie. You wound me.” 

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You got a shift today?” 

“Nope,” he replied with a grin. “Reggie offered to swap it with his monday. I was planning on working on some songs later, but right now I’m more focused on the cake.” 

Julie raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, “Luke Patterson prioritising something over music, that’s unprecedented.” 

Luke laughed, “First of all, I _can_ prioritise things over music— a lot of things just don’t come close. Example: the guys and I skipped band practice to buy me this stupid suit… that I’m still wearing?” He gestured to the creased button down that he’d slept in, with the tie that was barely still tied at all, it was so loose around his neck. The top three buttons at least were still undone and the black dress pants were covered in fluff from Julie’s couch. “Actually,” he frowned, looking at Julie properly for the first time since she got up. “That _you’re_ still wearing.” 

Her eyes widened as she realised what he meant. She’d been coerced into putting sweatpants on by Carrie and Flynn, and they were on underneath the black dress that she’d worn to the wedding. The jacket in question— _Luke’s_ jacket— was still wrapped around her. She’d fallen asleep in his jacket. “Surprisingly comfy,” she replied, feeling her face heating up. “Good quality too.” Already feeling awkward, Julie rushed to change the subject. “Okay, so I don’t really feel like doing anything today other than making some progress in the consumption of that masterpiece of a cake tier. I’m going to go and change out of this dress. Here is your jacket… I will be back.” She shrugged it off from around her shoulders and dropped it into his lap, taking the empty cake plate with her to the kitchen before she disappeared into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

Luke ducked his head to hide his grin, despite the fact that Julie was no longer in the room and wouldn’t see the look on his face. The jacket was still warm. He smiled to himself, before grabbing the aforementioned black jacket, along with his keys, and making his way next door. He got washed and changed into something comfier, including his _Rush_ cut-off and light blue sleeveless hoodie before going back to Julie’s and settling himself back in the exact same spot on the couch he’d been sitting at previously. 

When Julie returned, sporting a fresh pair of sweatpants and a tie-dye top, she eyed Luke for a moment. He honestly looked like he hadn’t moved, but if the clothes and damp hair were any indicator, he obviously had. Luke read her look and shrugged innocently, “Mastered teleportation.” 

“Pretty good since you don’t have a working car,” she joked, settling down next to him with a sigh. 

He shot her a grin. “Desperate times, desperate measures.” 

It was quite funny, really, how they lived next door to each other and neither of them had a car. It would be so much easier for them to carpool than any of their other friends yet when it came to cars, apparently their luck was just about the same (read: nonexistent). 

“I don’t feel like doing anything today,” Julie sighed. 

“Neither,” he agreed. “Movie?”

“You choose,” Julie curled up underneath his outstretched arm across the back of the couch, tucked into his side. “You saved me yesterday. I actually ended up having a good time. You were a pretty good fake boyfriend. Anyone would be lucky to have you.” 

Luke didn’t meet her eyes. “Anything for a friend.” 

“Luke,” she insisted, prodding his arm until he finally looked at her. “I mean it. _Thank you,_ for having my back.” 

“Always,” he promised. “I’ll sort out a movie while you get the popcorn and cake?” 

Julie nodded. “M&Ms and mini oreos in yours?” She stood up, shaking her head fondly. “Forget I asked. I’ll sort it.” 

☕☕☕

The two of them managed to marathon six out of eight of the Fast and Furious movies, resulting in them both falling asleep on the couch before they had a chance to put on the seventh. Luke woke up first when he heard the phone ringing, and instantly picked up before muting the call until he could see who it was. 

“Hey?” He asked, half-asleep. 

“Oi Rockstar, think you can come downstairs and help me with these boxes? I’m moving in.” 

That woke him up a little bit. 

“Moving in _where?_ Flynn? Moving in with Julie? Moving in with me and I didn’t know?” Luke realised he was unintentionally getting louder in his surprise and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Give me a minute.” Gently, he lifted Julie’s head up from on top of him and lowered her back down onto a pillow. He grabbed the throw blanket and pulled it on top of her before grabbing her phone as he sent her a ‘be right back, Flynn needs a hand with something’ text so that it wouldn’t vibrate against the table and wake her up. 

“You know I’ve been looking for a place?” Flynn asked as soon as she realised he was back. “Well, one opened up. It’s directly above Julie’s apartment, and Willie has his cousin Dante’s van today for literally no reason whatsoever, so I’m making the most of it.”

“Right,” Luke nodded, the phone pinned between his air and his shoulder as he shut the door gently and locked it behind him. He ignored the elevator and went straight for the stairs, they were on the third floor, but it was temperamental at the best of times. “Yeah, I’m on my way.” 

He pushed open the front door of the building and leant against it to keep it open. Willie waved as he climbed out of the driver’s seat and jumped down. “Surprise,” he shrugged. “Yeah, I didn’t really expect to be doing this either but she’s pretty persuasive.” 

“I have my superpowers,” Flynn smirked. “Anyway. Help?” 

Luke rolled his eyes and wedged the door open as he grabbed a box, his muscles straining at the weight of it. _“God._ Flynn, what have you got _in_ here?” 

“Lightweight,” she rolled her eyes. “It’s just shoes.” 

Willie picked up an identical box and followed her through the door. “Where’s Julie?” 

“Asleep,” Luke replied. “So tell her the news tomorrow.” 

Flynn narrowed her eyes at him. “How do _you_ know that she’s asleep?” 

“Because we were sitting on her couch and watching movies?” He supplied warily, only hesitant due to the gaze Flynn was layering on him. “What?” 

“Nothing,” she smirked, shooting a knowing look at Willie who tried not to laugh in return. “Nothing at all.” 

Luke sighed and readjusted his earlier statement about the elevator. He was _not_ carrying this stuff up four flights of stairs. “So Willie, I thought Alex said you had a shift tonight?” 

Willie shrugged. “Well Flynn called and asked for help, and Ky and Nick were there and said they could cover it.” 

Flynn snorted, “If locking up a bar alone together doesn’t get the two of them together I don’t know what will. Honestly, it’s almost as if everyone we’re friends with has a problem acknowledging their feelings.” 

“Hypocrite,” Willie muttered under his breath, earning himself a piercing glare. 

She continued to glower at him even as the elevator arrived on the fourth floor and the doors slowly opened. Flynn balanced the box she was carrying on her leg against the wall as she pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. “So,” she changed the subject. “Anyone texted you about open mic night yet, Luke?” 

Well that was news.

“Mrs H’s open mic night?” 

“Oh, so you know?” 

Luke shook his head. “I know it’s a recurring thing, I just didn’t know when it is this time.” 

“Two weeks. First of December.” She explained. “Sign up sheet is on the noticeboard next to the fall specials. I took the liberty of signing up Sunset Curve and Phantom Protocol.” 

He frowned, “Phantom Protocol?” 

“AJ, Ky and Nick finally decided on a band name,” Willie replied as they ditched the boxes and went back downstairs for some of the actual furniture. “It only took them…” He counted it off on his fingers. “Seven… eight… nine months? Give or take?” 

Luke laughed, “Well it took awhile for us to get to Sunset Curve. I think it was Reg who came up with the name in the end… we were all crashing at Bobby’s place and he woke us up at 2am with the idea. We’ve been Sunset Curve ever since. How’d they come up with the name, anyway? It’s cool.” 

Willie pulled a face. “One time the power went out at work and they just continued to rehearse in the dark, but I had no idea so when I went inside I genuinely thought the place was haunted by a ghost band. Also Ky really likes Mission Impossible.” 

“Makes sense,” he nodded with a grin, grabbing one end of a mattress as Willie took the other and Flynn grabbed a flat packed kitchen chair. 

“So what song are you planning on doing? You guys can close as well as your actual performance if we’re short on musicians, but that’s an on-the-day kind of decision,” Flynn added.

Luke paused, thinking it over. “Finally Free, if the guys and Julie are on board. But we might write a new song before then, I’ve been working on some stuff with Jules.” 

“Are you gonna ask her to join the band or not? Y’all sound great together, and as your manager I want the best for all of you,” she watched him, and Luke chose his next words carefully. 

“Honestly, she would work great with our sound. But I know she wants a music career for herself… how would that work with the band? We’d love to have her, but if she wants to make her own mark in the music industry then that’s up to her,” he replied finally. 

“But dude,” Willie sent him a knowing look. “Have you _asked_ her?” Luke shook his head. “Then how do you _know?”_

“I don’t.” 

“Exactly,” Flynn cut in, holding the door open for them. “You write half of your songs together anyway. Would you even think about performing any of the ones Julie helped you write without her?”

The answer was easy. “Never.”

“So it’s not like if Sunset Curve went on tour, you’d perform without her, right? Imagine Bright in front of a sold out stadium…” Flynn trailed off when she saw the wistful look on Luke’s face, knowing she’d worked her magic. “Think you have your answer.” 

Luke didn’t stop thinking about it for the entire time they helped Flynn move in.


	13. I Believe In Brew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OPEN MIC NIGHT Y'ALL (part 1)  
> containing:  
> \- flarrie  
> \- juke  
> \- JATP MUSIC  
> \- aj and her fantastic sense of style  
> \- reggie x aj vibes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a tad all over the place, because there's so much I wanted to fit in, so I hope it makes sense! A lot is going on, but it's a pretty busy day where a lot of things comes together so I hope you guys enjoy :)
> 
> Also it's been split into two parts, so the second half will be out soon

By the end of the two weeks, Flynn was comfortably moved into her apartment above Julie’s, and she insisted on having a welcome party there after the open mic. Carrie was helping her plan it which meant that the two of them barely left each other’s side throughout that time, always disappearing to talk about the party in private at any given opportunity. 

Luke had made his decision and asked Reggie, Alex, and Bobby, and they were all one hundred per cent for the idea of inviting Julie to join the band. Mrs Harrison was finally back at the coffee shop, and on her arrival she had been more than a little impressed at how they had handled things without her. Julie and Luke had been spending every spare moment working on a new song for the final number at the open mic night. They were opening with two songs to get the energy for the night up and then depending on how many people performed, they could end up closing the show as well. 

Reggie was on his way in for his morning shift when he passed the sign-up sheet for the open mic night. He scanned down it, interested in who would be performing. Obviously Sunset Curve and Phantom Protocol were the first two bands, followed by Dirty Candi… Reggie raised an eyebrow when he saw Ky’s name down for a solo as well, but went with it. But the one name that surprised him was the scrawled _Julie Molina_ as the very last entry when he skipped down to the bottom. 

He snapped a picture and sent it to her with the caption, _“this u?”_

Julie’s phone buzzed as she sat next to Luke on the bus. They were sharing a pair of headphones and listening to _Youngblood_ by 5 Seconds of Summer (the album, not just the song) while Luke sang along under his breath. She checked to see who the message was from and realised Reggie had sent her a photo. 

Reg  
  
yeah, i signed up  
  
still not sure if i'll play or not  
  
you should play!  
  
what song were you thinking of?  
  
it's called wake up  
  
my mom wrote it  
  
can you not tell the others just yet? i'm still on the fence  
  


_Wake up… Wake Up_ was complicated. Rose wrote it when she first got sick, most likely thinking she wouldn’t pull through. Julie would read it to herself on the bad days, drawing her strength from it. Even though her mom pulled through, it still held painful memories with it which is why it had taken so long for Julie to try and play it before now. She was still hesitant to play it, let alone in front of an audience. 

Reg  
  
dw, i won't say anything until tonight  
  
but it'll be pretty obvious if you just take the stage  
  
i know, i know  
  
i'll say something later  
  
maybe  
  


“Who are you texting?” Luke tried to peer over her shoulder and she swatted him away and rolled her eyes. 

“Boundaries,” she scolded. “It’s Reggie, he wants to know how far away we are.” 

He opened his mouth to reply and paused as the song changed. “This isn’t from the album, did you _edit_ the queue?” 

“What? It’s after Halloween, therefore it’s time for Christmas music,” Julie complained. “Besides, it’s a good song.” 

_Christmas._ Luke froze, he’d been trying not to think about it. It was over six months ago when Julie invited him for Christmas. Would she remember? It wouldn’t be a worst-case scenario if he spent Christmas at his place again, but ever since she suggested it, Luke had been looking forward to it a little bit. He breezed past the fact that she associated all dates after Halloween as Christmas and decided on a neutral “Yeah, Christmas is coming up.” 

“Oh, Christmas!” Julie spun around to face him in the minimal room allowed by the bus seats. “About that…” 

She hesitated, and he jumped to conclusions. She doesn’t want him there. It’s fine, it’s fine. She shouldn’t feel pressured to invite— 

“Luke?” She waved her hand in front of his face. “I lost you for a second? I was just saying that my Tia Victoria is a little intense, so I’ll try and make sure you’re not alone with her?” 

And just like that, he was able to relax. “For Christmas?” 

“Yeah, you still want to come, right? I’m not having you spend it alone, I already told you that,” Julie folded her arms. “And whatever Carlos is obsessed with at the time, you’ll probably get dragged into loads of conversations about that. Oh, and my mom will probably want to talk with you about music non-stop, so that’ll be fun. She used to be in a band, so you have that in common. She’ll like you, I think. You can meet my cousin Lita as well, she’s actually friends with Ky and AJ from when we went to school, but she goes to NYU so we don’t get to see her often.” 

☕☕☕

Carrie was watching out of the window as Julie and Luke walked to the bus stop, occasionally bumping into each other in an attempt to stay close enough to share the pair of headphones. She rolled her eyes at them as she pulled on her skirt. She’d brought a spare change of clothes because it would be pretty obvious if she turned up at work in the same clothes that she left in the previous day. What was this, amateur hour? 

Not that she’d done this kind of thing before. It just happened… _occasionally._

“You want to get breakfast before our shifts?” Flynn called as she emerged from the bathroom and pulled on her jacket. “Not at Mrs H’s, at Waffle Hut or something.” 

She fought the smile emerging on her face as she picked up her bag and moved away from the window. She did _not_ have feelings for Flynn. She did _not._ “Sure, I could eat.” 

“What’s our story this time?” Flynn asked as she grabbed her keys. “Your car wouldn’t start after last night’s shift so I offered to drop you home and at work this morning so we could get in extra… _party planning_ time?” 

The truth? The party had been fully planned for at least a week. 

“Yeah,” Carrie nodded, slipping her feet into her pumps. “Sounds about right.” 

☕☕☕

Alex was on the register as Reggie made the drinks, but neither of them could focus as they watched Willie and Luke work together to assemble the stage for the open mic night, both sporting tank tops. Alex glanced at Reggie out of the corner of his eye. “Still?” 

“I’m not crushing on Luke,” his bandmate shot back. “Not anymore, anyway. He may have been a crucial part of my bisexual awakenening— which we have in common, don’t think I don’t know that he was your first real crush—” Reggie ignored Alex’s eye roll which undoubtedly followed that comment. “But I like someone else now. But that does not mean I’m not allowed to appreciate the view. Besides, I can see a customer coming, so you might want to wipe that drool from around your mouth before they get to you.” 

Alex glared at Reggie and tossed a takeout cup at him before greeting the customer. He just about managed to take their order without getting distracted by Willie as he shifted the weight of one of the amps so that he could wave to Alex. Alex grinned back, about to wave before he realised he had the customer’s drink in his hand, so he succeeded in raising it in acknowledgement before passing it over, luckily not spilling anything in his excitement to wave back at his boyfriend. 

Reggie snorted as soon as the customer was gone and received yet _another_ glare for his efforts. But it was definitely worth it. Although he couldn’t make fun of Alex for much longer without being a hypocrite since as soon as AJ offered to help with the setup and ended up standing on Luke’s shoulders, her _‘do no harm but take no shit’_ crop top rising up as she reached above her head to adjust the lights, Reggie forgot he was in the middle of pouring milk until it started overflowing from the cup and across the workspace. 

Rolling his eyes, Alex started to clear up around Reggie as he continued to stare, before swatting him in the face with the wet cloth. “Take five minutes, and a cool shower, _god,_ Reg.” He shoved him in the direction of the break room. “I’ll be fine without you.” 

Julie laughed as AJ balanced on Luke’s shoulders, the two of them wobbling precariously as he tried to keep them both upright. “Do you need me to spot you? I’m going to spot you,” she decided, holding out her arms. 

“Bold of you to assume I won’t just stay holding onto the ceiling Spiderman style when Sleeveless below me wipes out from the sheer weight of my coolness,” AJ replied with a grin, somewhat muffled by the packet of blu-tac sticking out of her mouth as she stuck the fairy lights to the wall. 

“I still don’t get the constant fixation on the sleeve thing,” Luke pointed out with a scowl from below. “It’s no different to you turning up in black and white t-shirts with sarcastic phrases on.” 

“There is a difference,” she insisted. 

“And that is?” 

“Your arms have more structure than my entire life?” 

Willie scoffed at her answer. “You’re not special, that works applies to my life too.”

Julie tried to hide her laughter behind a cough. “That’s… that’s not _incorrect…_ But Luke isn’t wrong either, you _do_ have a lot of sarcastic t-shirts.” 

“Alright, give me an example?” AJ asked as she put up the last few lights. 

“Right now,” Luke pointed out. 

“The first day I met you, you were wearing one that said _‘the difference between your opinion and pizza is that I asked for pizza’._ I remember it vividly,” Julie added.

Willie chimed in with: “Yesterday you wore one to work that said _‘stupid people are like glow sticks. I want to snap them and shake the shit out of them until the light comes on’_ and Caleb asked you to go change into something from the lost and found.” 

“I came here to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.” AJ glared at all of them before grabbing a hold of the doorframe and using it to swing herself off Luke’s shoulders. “I dislike all of you. Except for Reggie, he’s cool. He plays bass, of course he’s cool.” 

Julie, Willie and Luke shared a look. 

AJ narrowed her eyes at them as she let her hair back down. “What?” 

“Oh look, it’s Carrie and Flynn,” Julie changed the subject. 

“Arriving together,” Willie smirked, shooting Flynn a glance. 

She rolled her eyes at him, only making him smirk even more. 

Reggie resumed his position next to Alex on the register and gave an over the top dramatic response to the Starbucks in Carrie’s hand. _“Traitor!”_ He held his hand over his heart and gasped loudly. “How _could_ you? After everything we’ve been through? What even is that pink demon spawn?”

“Are you referring to Carrie or the drink?” Flynn cut in with a grin, earning herself a light elbow to the ribs. 

“Its menu name was ‘pink drink’,” Carrie replied with a shrug, holding it out to Reggie. 

He stuck an extra straw in and begrudgingly (although it didn’t take much convincing) took a sip. His frown intensified when he realised it was actually quite nice. “Horrendous. Did you see what’s in it?” 

“Who do you take me for?” She rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, sending him the covert video she’d taken of her barista making the drink. “I filmed it.” 

“You’re no longer a traitor and I have always loved and respected you,” he grinned. “I can’t wait to try and recreate this.” 

Carrie laughed, “You’re welcome, Reg.” She turned to Alex, who was shaking his head in Reggie’s direction in disbelief. “You excited for tonight’s performance?”

“Terrified,” he replied with a grin. 

Flynn’s eyebrows shot up, “You’re dancing with Dirty Candi?” 

“Maria is out sick, and Alex knows all of our choreo by heart—” 

“Guilty,” he shrugged. 

“—so he’s stepping in. But you’re going to do _amazingly._ If you don’t, I’ll murder you myself for ruining the performance, which means you don’t have to worry about any actual embarrassment, because you’ll already be dead. Did that help?” 

“So much, Carrie. _Thank you.”_ Alex replied, his words dripping with sarcasm. 

She shook her head and placed a hand on his arm. “Alexander Mercer, I believe with every fibre of my being that you are going to crush it with us tonight. Just remember to breathe, and the choreo. It’s important that you remember the choreo and the lyrics.” 

He relaxed a little, nodding at her. “Thanks, Care.” 

☕☕☕

The girls all found themselves at Carrie’s getting ready for their performances. Carrie was delicately putting her hair up so she could put on her pink wig while Flynn clipped butterflies into Julie’s hair. AJ had decided to curl her hair for the first time in her life which ended up with Julie doing it for her since she was a danger to not only herself and the others, but anything flammable within a six-foot radius. 

Julie had decided on a pair of black and white bottoms, a white top decorated with pink, purple and blue butterflies (bi pride, y’all) and a pair of glittery silver high top sneakers with matching butterflies stuck on that used to be her mother’s. She’d tied it all together with a pair of blue butterfly earrings. 

Carrie was all decked in pink for the Dirty Candi performance, with a pair of silver shorts (even in December, she put style over comfort), and AJ had yet another mildly offensive tee. Different from earlier, this one read: _I googled my symptoms, turns out I’m a bitch._ Flynn was sporting her new ‘WHAT’ earrings. 

“So… out of all of you, who’s going to kill it the most?” Flynn joked. 

AJ rolled her eyes. “We’re making this into a competition? Really? Okay, I’m game.” 

“The answer’s obvious, why do we need to bet on it?” Carrie pointed out with a smirk. 

“I’m performing solo,” Julie blurted out. 

The conversation stopped in its tracks. 

“You’re ditching the guys?” Flynn frowned, but Julie wasn’t sure if it was her ‘manager’ frown or her ‘best friend’ frown just yet. 

“No, _never,”_ she promised. “Just… I have this song of my mom’s, and I think I might be finally ready to sing it. It’s called _Wake Up.”_

AJ nudged her, “Good for you, Molina. Hands down, you can do this.” 

Carrie’s expression softened. “AJ’s right. If you think you’re ready, then you just gotta go for it. You’re probably going to blow us all away.” 

“I’ll see how I feel,” she admitted. “I don’t think I can make any promises.” 

Flynn opened her mouth to say something, but she got cut off by her phone as it rang. One look at the caller ID and she instantly started to grin. “I gotta take this. Be right back.” They could just hear her as she walked down the hallway, phone pressed to her ear. “Yes, this is Flynn. Yes, this is the same Flynn that has been calling your receptionist for the past four days straight. Thanks for _finally_ getting back to me—” 

☕☕☕

“Everything set up?” Alex asked as he walked in and took a seat. The coffee shop had been rearranged so that all the tables and chairs were facing the temporary stage, and although the main lights were off, the area was lit by dozens of strings of fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and along the walls. This event always drew more customers, and this was no different— at least half the tables were already occupied. 

“Yeah,” Reggie pointed to the stage. “If by that you mean drums, then we’re good to go.” 

The girls arrived together, all piling out of Flynn’s car at once, just as Luke emerged from the back room. “We ready to—” He was about to ask Julie if they were ready to go on, but her outfit caught her off guard and he just ended up staring. 

Reggie nudged Alex and whispered. “Julie? Stunning. Luke? Error. Hotel? Trivago.” Alex almost choked in an effort to hide his laughter. 

“Ready to go?” Julie supplied. “Yeah, let’s do this.” 

“Give us a minute…” Flynn looked around, before her eyes settled on someone at one of the back tables. “Yeah, you’re ready to go.” 

Carrie followed Flynn’s gaze and recognised the woman it landed on almost immediately. “I need to fix my wig, it’s not on right. Flynn, a hand?” 

She frowned, “It’s literally perfect, you were obsessing over it—” 

“This will be a perfect opportunity to discuss more of the party?” 

_That_ caught Flynn’s attention. “You’re right, the wig is a little… askew,” she judged it, circling around Carrie to get the full picture. “We have to fix it, pronto.” 

They disappeared into the bathroom. 

“So… party planning?” Flynn grinned as she shut the door behind them. 

Carrie rolled her eyes. “I knew that would work. Why didn’t you tell me you invited Andi?” 

Andi as in Andi Parker. Andi Parker as in _Andi Parker from Destiny Management._

“You can’t tell the others,” Flynn lowered her voice. “This could be a good chance for them, and they’ll start to panic if they know who she is. You have to act like you don’t know she’s here, and if they ask who she is, say _nothing.”_

“Fine,” she sighed. “How did you even get her to come?” 

“I’m persuasive,” Flynn shrugged. “And… persistent.” 

“You left her a hundred messages didn’t you.” 

“Maybe.” 

“That’s… wow.” 

Flynn walked towards her, “What can I say? I’m a dedicated manager.” 

“And a good friend,” Carrie added, watching her in awe. Okay, so apparently seeing Flynn being business-like was a turn on? She really needed to check herself. _Instead,_ she reached out and tugged Flynn towards her, a smirk slowly spreading across the other girl’s face.

But the door swung open before they could do anything. AJ’s eyebrow raised, and her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. “Some party you two are planning. Damn, you could cut the tension in here with a _knife._ ” She took a step back, mimed zipping her lips up and throwing the key into the nearby trash can basketball style, and announced. “As you were…” before she backed out of the room. 

“We were really about to—” 

“And we _work_ here!” 

They tried not to laugh. “AJ won’t say anything, right?” 

“That girl has more secrets than any of us, and barely half of them are hers. We can trust her,” Flynn insisted. “I’ve known her since high school. But she can’t lie for shit, so we should go back out there before anyone asks her what we’re up to.” 

Carrie laughed and adjusted her wig in the mirror. “Let’s go.” 

Flynn grabbed the sign-up list from the wall as she left the bathroom, holding the clipboard in her hand as she made her way over to the stage. She scanned the first band's name, even though she already knew what it was as she stepped up to one of the standing microphones. 

“Alright, if you haven’t been here before, this is _Mrs Harrison’s._ Thanks to Ky, this is live-streaming to YouTube right now, so if you want anyone to see this who couldn’t make it, the code to scan for that is over by the specials. Our first musicians of the evening belong to our very own Sunset Curve! Kicking the night off accompanied by the wonderful Julie Molina, take it away guys…” She gestured to the stage and started to applaud as Bobby, Alex, Luke, Reggie and Julie walked up. She took a seat behind the keyboard that had been set up and slid her own microphone into the stand. 

Julie started to play the beginning of _Finally Free,_ nowhere near as nervous as she had been the first time she performed with Sunset Curve. Honestly? She could get used to this. Performing with them felt like setting out for greatness and coming home all at once. 

_Hearts on fire_

_We’re no liars_

_So we say what we wanna say_

_I’m awakened, no more faking,_

_So we push all our fears away_

Alex joined in with a gentle drumbeat in the background. 

_Don’t know if I’ll make it_

_‘Cause I’m falling under_

_Close my eyes and feel my chest_

_Beating like thunder_

_I wanna fly_

_Come alive_

_Watch me shine_

Reggie joined in with bass at the same time as Luke moved up to his mic stand with his guitar, and Bobby came in with the rhythm. Julie jumped up from behind the keyboard with her microphone so her and Luke could harmonise on the chorus, grabbing her tambourine from the mic stand as she did so.

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now ‘til eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

Julie took the next verse, _“We’re all bright now, what a sight now, coming out like we’re fireworks, marching on proud, turn it up loud ‘cause now we know what we’re worth…”_

Luke jumped in with her for the pre-chorus, sending her electric glances from across the stage like a language only the two of them knew, and Julie grinned back at him. _“We know we can make it, we’re not falling down under, close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder…”_

_I wanna fly_

_Come alive_

He took a step back, smiling to himself as he gave Julie the opportunity to do as she sang, literally _watching her shine._

_Watch me shine…_

Before they all joined in on the chorus, voices blending together. 

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now ‘til eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now ‘til eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

The audience clapped along to the beat, and Julie caught Flynn’s eye for a moment and her best friend shot her a proud grin. 

Then the bridge, sung in canon. (Personally, it was Luke’s favourite part.)

 _“I got a spark in me,”_ Julie tipped her mic and its stand towards him.

 _“I got a spark in me,”_ he echoed into it. 

_“And you’re a part of me…”_

Luke followed, staring into her eyes and meaning every single word of it. _“And you’re a part of me.”_

 _“Now ‘til eternity,”_ she continued. 

_“Now ‘til eternity…”_

Bobby, Alex, and Reggie shared a look as they watched the performance. It was halfway between ‘we need Julie in our band’ and ‘if those two don’t get together already I’m literally going to sue’. 

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

_I got a spark in me_

_Hands up if you can see_

_And you’re a part of me_

_Hands up if you’re with me_

_Now ‘til eternity_

_Hands up if you believe_

_Been so long and now we’re finally free_

The audience erupted into applause and Ky shot them a thumbs up from behind the live stream camera, checking the feed on his laptop and the comments that were coming in. 

“Are we following this with Great?” Luke nudged Julie, and she nodded, taking the few minutes break between songs to down half a bottle of water and check her messages. Her smile got even wider when she saw the texts on the Molina family group chat and found out they were all tuning in. Even Lita, despite the fact that it was almost half-past eleven in New York. Then again, the girl never sleeps, so was it _that_ much of a surprise? Julie grinned to herself before putting her phone away and doing a band circle with the guys. 

“This might be our last song of the night, but it might not, but we’re going to play it like it is, alright?” Luke whispered into the huddle and received four nods in return. “Legends on three.” 

_“LEGENDS!”_

Julie took her place back behind the keyboard just like in the previous song. It might be the last Sunset Curve song of the night, but she had made her decision to sing _Wake Up,_ and although she was in no way planning on going back on her decision, it was scary as all hell.

_Running from the past_

_Tripping on the now_

_What is lost can be found_

_It’s obvious_

_And like a rubber ball_

_We come bouncing back_

_We all got a second act inside of us_

Alex started on the drums as Bobby and Luke built on Julie’s sound with their guitars, until they all joined in with their instruments to support her for the first chorus. 

_I believe_

_I believe that we’re just one dream_

_Away from who we’re meant to be_

_And that we’re standing on the edge of_

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of great_

The boys chimed in with _“On the edge of great…”_

_Great (on the edge of great)_

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of…_

_Great_

Luke took the second verse, which had begun to become a tradition in most of their songs at this point. 

_We all make mistakes_

_They’re just stepping stones_

_To take us where we wanna go_

_It’s never straight, no_

Julie joined him, avoiding eye contact as she tried to find Flynn in the audience instead, for support. How would the guys react to her singing solo later? The thought plagued her mind. She should’ve told them in advance, right? That would have been a better idea? 

_Sometimes we gotta lean_

_Lean on someone else_

_To get a little help_

_Until we find our way_

_I believe_

_I believe that we’re just one dream_

_Away from who we’re meant to be_

_And that we’re standing on the edge of_

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of great_

(On the edge of great) Great

(On the edge of great) Great

(On the edge of great)

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of…_

Julie climbed up onto the nearest table next to the stage, swinging her legs around the front of it to dangle them off it as she sang the bridge. 

_Shout, shout_

_Come on and let it out, out_

_Don’t gotta hide it_

_Let your colours blind their eyes_

_Be who you are no compromise_

_Just shout, shout_

_Come on and let it out, out_

_What doesn’t kill you makes you feel alive_

She started the chorus on her own, enjoying it, but also too in her own head. Julie barely even realised that Luke had noticed that while they were singing, but as soon as she started to sing and all the other instruments faded out, Luke stepped off the stage and appeared next to her with his guitar, improvising. 

_Oh, I believe_

_I believe that we’re just one dream_

_Away from who we’re meant to be_

And just like that, she was living in the moment again, standing up on the table to belt out the final line of the chorus. 

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of great_

The boys backed her up with their harmonies. 

_Something big, something crazy_

_Our best days are yet unknown_

_That this moment is ours to own_

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of great_

_(On the edge of great) On the edge of great_

_(Great, on the edge of great)_

_‘Cause we’re standing on the edge of…_

Julie found herself sitting behind the keyboard again for the last part, where the boys stopped playing and left it just her voice and the piano, but Luke appeared beside her, staring into her eyes as they both started to sing, and Julie almost lost herself for a moment. 

_Running from the past_

_Tripping on the now_

_What is lost can be found_

_It’s obvious_

It was pretty damn obvious to the entire audience, that was for sure, that Julie and Luke were in love. 

They just didn’t know it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, am I guilty of giving my oc AJ too much screen time because I love her? Yes. Will I stop? Probably not. If y'all want to read more of her, she's the best friend to my oc Lita (did you see the Lita mentions? yeah, i couldn't help it lol) in my fic Julita and the Phantoms which is s1 but with her in it. 
> 
> Is this shameless self-promo? Yes.  
> Am I going to do it anyway because there's-- holy SHIT, y'all-- FOUR THOUSAND of you reading this fic? HELL YES.


	14. So Much To Do, Not A Latte Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more songs are performed, half the people in this chapter experience intense gay panic, we have a surprise guest (so surprising she wasn't even supposed to be in this chapter) and a little party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things to say:  
> 1) this chapter is longer than the last one lol  
> 2) it might give you emotional whiplash  
> 3) lita went from being mentioned to having a wholass cameo and i have no regrets  
> 4) my inner romantic really jumped out in that last part huh

“You killed it!” Flynn wrapped Julie in a hug the second she came off stage before leading her back to behind the camera to take over for a bit from Ky as he performed with his band. 

“Break a leg,” Reggie called to the rest of ‘Phantom Protocol’, and AJ winked at him as she grabbed her bass, coming in just after Jason on the drums and Nick with his guitar as they dived straight into _Right Here Right Now_ by the American Authors. 

Ky passed the mic stand between his hands as he started, dressed in a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The four of them seemed to have leant into the ghost aesthetic, each wearing black and white. Not like that was any different from AJ, who usually wore either black, white, or red anyway. 

_I wanna sip champagne on private planes_

_I wanna scream my name on top of the Eiffel tower_

_On the Eiffel tower_

_I wanna hit that blackjack twenty-one_

_I wanna take that money, and run right here, right now_

_Oh, right here, right now_

AJ and Nick took over for the pre-chorus, stepping up to their microphones at the same time on either side of Ky. 

_But I won’t take that train_

_I won’t catch that flight_

_If you’re not on that plane_

_We ain’t takin’ off tonight_

All of them sang the chorus, and they had all of their friends cheering along as they did so. 

_All the money in the world, baby_

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Oh, and even if we’re broke, baby_

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Right here, right now_

_Right here, right now_

The next verse was AJ’s, whether the others planned on it or not— it was always hard to tell with their band, whether they’d actually rehearsed who would be singing what bit, or if they just went for it on stage— and she seemed to enjoy herself. 

_I wanna steal the show in Tokyo_

_I wanna karaoke, bump it a little bit louder_

_A little bit louder_

The boys chimed in with a _“Hey”_ to back her up.

_I wanna sing along with Elton John_

_In a white limousine rolling, right here, right now_

_Oh, right here, right now_

Nick and Ky sang the pre-chorus, the two of them back to back as Nick built on his guitar part in the lead up to the chorus. 

_But I won’t take that train_

_I won’t catch that flight_

_If you’re not on that plane_

_We ain’t takin’ off tonight_

They all did the chorus, and it managed to have even more energy than before, and Luke had to catch Reggie when AJ pointed at him and sang _‘cause you’re all that I want’._

_All the money in the world, baby_

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Oh, and even if we’re broke, baby_

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Right here, right now_

  
  


_I need you right here, right now_

_Oh, I need you right here, right now_

_Yeah, I need you, right here, right now_

Nick took the first part of the bridge, glancing at Ky with a grin as he and AJ stopped playing their guitars, leaving only the steady beat of Jason’s drums in the background and the stomping of their feet. _“Oh, I wanna scream your name, wanna make you smile…”_

 _“Let’s be runaways, leave it all behind…”_ AJ continued, starting back up with the bass as Nick did the same with his guitar. _“Will you take that train? Will you catch that flight?”_

Ky finished the bridge solo, and started the final chorus. 

_If you’re on that plane, we’ll be takin’ off tonight_

_All the money in the world, baby_

Jason chimed in with a _“No!”_ before they all joined in for the final chorus. 

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Oh, and even if we’re broke, baby_

_Don’t mean a goddamn thing_

_‘Cause you’re all that I want_

_Right here, right now_

_I need you right here, right now_

_Oh, I need you right here, right now_

_Yeah, I need you right here, right now_

The audience burst into applause and the four of them took a bow. AJ pointed directly at the camera for the live stream and shouted. “That one’s for you, my American Authors-loving bestie!”

Ky rolled his eyes and put one arm around Nick and the other around AJ— who protested profusely, considering they were all very sweaty from the jumping around in the chorus— and waved at the camera. “Miss you loads, Lita. See you soon!” 

They left the stage and took their equipment with them, all pitching in to get the drum kit off the stage to make space for the next few musicians, two of which were primarily acoustic and the other being Dirty Candi. 

The two bands sat down at one of the remaining tables next to the camera as Ky checked on the live stream. Julie disappeared into the break room to change out of her performance gear and into something more comfortable. Not that she didn’t love what she wore to sing with Sunset Curve, but to have the courage to go on and sing _Wake Up,_ Julie decided she preferred practicality and comfort instead. She pulled on an oversized grey long-sleeved top and a pair of pale brown plaid trousers, slowly taking all the butterflies from her hair and replacing them with three smaller clips just to keep the strands off her face while she played. 

Ky’s knee bounced up and down as he tried to calm his nerves about performing. This wasn’t like Julie’s nerves for singing _Wake Up,_ this was a different kind of anxious. He’d been crushing on Nick for… how long, now? Probably a year and a half? Yeah, so he decided he better goddamn _do something_ about it. So he talked to his long-distance friend Lita on the phone, and she said “Dammit Ky, you’re a musician and you’re a dancer. Do one or the other!” 

Which led to him preparing a song for Nick. 

To sing. 

_Tonight._

And a James Arthur song, no less. 

To say he was vibrating with nervous energy would be the understatement of the _century._ Until the little bell above the door on Mrs Harrison’s chimed and someone threw their arms around him from behind. 

“Tell me I got here in time? Please? Traffic’s a bitch so I got out and ran,” Lita panted. 

Ky spun around, snapped out of his own head by the sound of his best friend’s voice, “What the fuck are you doing here?” (Affectionate)

“Charming. Nice to see you too,” she grinned. “I didn’t miss it, right?” 

He stared at her for a second, “Please tell me you didn’t get on a five-hour flight for this.” 

“What? You obviously needed me. Besides, one of my professors is sick and has put all of our assignments online in advance, and the other one is on maternity leave. As long as I get my shit submitted on time, no one will care that I’m gone. And I love you, Ky, and I want to support you,” she collapsed onto the seat in his lap and shot a half-hearted salute at Flynn when her eyebrows shot up in shock at Lita’s arrival. “I need a drink, like _now,_ before I pass out.” 

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he grinned. “I just didn’t think the mom friend overdrive would still kick in from New York.” 

“Well, I’m full of surprises,” she replied with a shrug as AJ hauled her away from Ky to pull her into a hug and hand her a water bottle.

“Don’t know why you’re here, don’t care how, just happy to see you.” 

“I was watching the live stream in the car on the way over. You killed it! Thanks for the shoutout, by the way,” Lita pulled away to chug half the water bottle in one go as Dirty Candi took to the stage. “Also I expect to be introduced to everyone, including Willie’s new boyfriend… who is currently on stage? Awesome.” 

“He’s a drummer too, in a band,” AJ supplied. 

“Nice. Get you a man who can do both,” Lita nodded appreciatively. “I’m going to go find my cousin.” She spun around and pointed at Ky. “Find me when it’s time. I am armed with a guitar and a large repertoire of James Arthur songs.” 

“How did you know I was going to choose a James Arthur sign?” Ky frowned. 

“You forget we’re mutuals on Spotify, I know you’ve been streaming him on repeat for the last week,” she pointed out, already half-way into the break room. “Surprise Jules, your favourite cousin wants to congratulate you on that performance in person! Also, you gotta tell me what’s going on between you and that guitarist—” 

☕☕☕

Alex, Carrie, and the rest of Dirty Candi prepared to perform. The girls were all in matching outfits, but since they couldn’t get one for Alex on such short notice, he was in a green shirt and his favourite black pants— they unzip into shorts, Carrie was horrified when she found out— along with his fanny pack. 

Carrie had rechoreographed part of the dance to include Alex a bit more, despite his complaints, but she knew once they got up there he would ultimately enjoy himself and would want to make the most of it. Besides, she also had to make up for that one rehearsal where she accidentally almost blinded him with her hair. She walked onto the stage first and nudged her sunglasses on before getting into position. 

_Whenever I walk in the room_

_All the focus on me_

The other official members of Dirty Candi joined her on stage, all in sync. 

_The way I talk_

_The way I move_

_They all want on my team_

_Not trying to brag, brag,_

_But I’m flawless_

_I’m taking over your playlist_

_Ain’t perfect, but I can’t miss_

_Yeah_

_The party don’t start til I walk in_

Alex appeared behind her, joining the line of dancers with a grin on his face. It was fine, he was going to be _fine,_ he was performing with Carrie and he was _excited_ and it was going to be _great._ It turns out he didn’t need much reassurance, because he was already killing it. 

_Some might say I sound conceited_

_They don’t get the shine that I get_

_Some get jealous, they can’t help it_

_They wish they were me_

He spun around behind Carrie, before joining the other girls in a semi-circle around her. 

_When I grow up_

_I wanna be me, be me_

_I’m my own goals_

_Just talking honestly_

_Must have won the lottery_

_Ain’t no one as hot as me_

_Stealing looks it’s robbery_

_Everywhere I go, all eyes on me_

Willie watched him from the audience in awe, and that gave Alex all the confidence he needed to continue. 

_I only lead_

_I never follow, follow_

_I never open, ‘cause it’s my show, my show_

_Don’t know if people think I’m shallow, shallow_

_‘Cause all I see is all eyes on me_

Carrie accepted the applause gratefully before throwing an arm around Alex. It was hard, considering she was a little bit shorter than him, but they took a bow together before walking off the stage in a line. 

Alex waved at the others, “What did you think?” 

“You crushed—” 

Reggie’s words got cut off as soon as he realised Alex wasn’t paying attention. Or rather, it was almost impossible for Alex to have been giving Reggie any of his attention considering the moment he left the stage, Willie closed the distance between them and used Alex’s fanny pack to pull his lips to meet his. 

Naturally, a cheer erupted from the live audience. 

(There were no homophobes in sight, because Mrs Harrison has a habit of kicking them out of her coffee shop _by force._ And if she doesn’t, Flynn is always happy to step in and do it herself, and AJ was always happy to help.)

Flynn cleared her throat. “It’s getting hot in here, I’m going to go outside for some air for a few minutes.” 

“I’ll join you,” Carrie replied, shedding her jacket. “I could do with a bit of fresh air.” 

The fire door had barely shut behind them before they were kissing each other senseless against the back wall. “You’re a great dancer,” Flynn whispered between breaths. “Are you doing this now because you’re on a performance high or because you want to?” 

“Bold of you to assume it’s not both,” Carrie replied as she pushed Flynn against the wall and pressed her lips to hers again. 

☕☕☕

“You guys are awesome,” Lita remarked, after being introduced to all of Sunset Curve. She was still waiting to meet Carrie, but no one seemed to have seen her or Flynn since they disappeared to ‘get some air’ about ten minutes ago. AJ dropped a subtle hint not to mention it, and Lita didn’t bring it up again. She had spent a while catching up with her cousin, but when she caught sight of Ky cocking his head in the direction of the stage, she nodded in understanding and excused herself from the conversation. 

Grabbing her acoustic, she got to the stage at the same time as him and took the piano stool to sit on, placing it near a mic. 

“Since Flynn isn’t going to introduce me, I guess I’m doing it,” Ky laughed awkwardly, clutching the mic so hard his knuckles were slowly turning white. “Hey, I’m Ky. I’m from Phantom Protocol. I’d say check us out on Spotify, but we haven’t got our shit together enough for that just yet, so for now try and find us on YouTube. I’m doing something solo as well. Surprise, I guess? Anyway, before I chicken out… this is my emotional support guitarist Lita—” he paused and let her wave to the audience— “Yeah, the same one we shouted out to earlier. This girl had the _audacity_ to catch a five-hour flight to be here to do this with me and I love her for it. Anyway, this song is for Nick. Surprise, again.” 

Lita cleared her throat and Ky turned around to raise an eyebrow at her. She stage-whispered, “You never actually told me which song we’re singing?” 

“Oh, right. _Can I Be Him?_ Or _Maybe?_ What do you think?” 

“You said Him first so we’re going with that,” she replied, grabbing a pick and starting to play her acoustic. 

Ky took a deep breath and began to sing. 

_You walked into the room and now my heart’s been stolen_

_You took me back in time to when I was unbroken_

_Now you’re all I want and I knew it from the very first moment_

_‘Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again_

_I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_

_Like it was a private show, but I know, you never saw me_

_When the lights come on, and I’m on my own_

_Will you be there to sing it again?_

_Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?_

_Can I be him?_

Everyone of Ky’s friends tried to covertly look at Nick to gauge his reaction. It was very clearly a love song, so they were all practically on the edge of their seats to see if this would pay off. It looked like it might— he seemed almost _awestruck._

_I heard there was someone, but I know he don’t deserve you_

_If you were mine, I’d never let anyone hurt you, no, no_

_I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips_

_It’s all I’ve been thinking about_

_‘Cause a light came on when I heard that song, and I want you to sing it again_

_I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_

_Like it was a private show, but I know, you never saw me_

_When the lights come on, and I’m on my own_

_Will you be there to sing it again?_

_Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?_

_Can I be the one?_

_Can I be the one?_

_Can I be the one?_

_Oh, can I, can I be him?_

_Won’t you sing it again?_

_Oh, when you sing it again_

_Can I be him?_

_Won’t you sing it again, yeah?_

_Oh, when you sing again, can I be him?_

_I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_

_Like it was a private show, but I know, you never saw me_

_When the lights come on, and I’m on my own_

_Will you be there to sing it again?_

Ky was a phenomenal singer. He had dreams that related more to Broadway than being in a band, but he had the voice for songs like this if he ever got around to writing one. Despite having more of an affinity for musicals, the fact that he was in a band brought out the part of him that appreciated this music more. 

But simply put, he put his heart and soul into everything he did, including this. 

_Can I be the one you talk about in all your stories?_

_Can I be him? Can I be him?_

_Can I be him?_

_Can I be him?_

He wiped the back of his hand across his face and sent a nervous smile in the direction of the table where his friends were sitting. “Nick Danforth-Evans, would you maybe want to go out sometime?” 

Nick grinned, “Absolutely, dude.”

☕☕☕

“Right,” Flynn and Carrie had returned from outside midway through Ky’s performance, and if they looked significantly flustered, no one seemed to bring it up as Flynn introduced the final musicians. “We’ve got at least one more, and she’s… well, you’ll see for yourself. Julie Molina, everybody…”

Everyone other than the girls and Reggie slowly turned to look at Julie, shocked. “Surprise,” she muttered weakly, clutching the sheet music in her hand like it was a lifeline. 

Reggie pulled her into a hug, no words needed. 

Luke’s forehead creased as he studied her, “You okay?” 

She nodded over Reggie’s shoulder. “I will be. When I’m finished.” 

He nodded, understanding. 

“Break a leg, Molina,” Bobby nodded at her. 

“You got this, cuz,” Lita winked. 

So she gathered all of her strength, looked the live stream camera dead in the centre of the lens, and made her way onto the stage. Julie had a feeling that this song would sound better on a grand piano rather than a keyboard, kind of like the one back at her parents’ house, but since there wasn’t exactly one ready, she had to make do with what she had. 

Slowly laying out the sheet music on the stand, Julie slipped her mic into place and took a deep breath before her fingers started to play almost of their own accord. Pretty lucky considering a small part of her brain was considering having second thoughts. 

Too late to stop now. 

_Here’s the one thing_

_I want you to know_

_You got someplace to go_

_Life’s a test, yes_

_But you go toe to toe_

_You don’t give up, no you grow_

Julie gained momentum as she continued, overwhelmed with all of the memories from the last year as tears began to stream down her face and she looked upwards, making no effort to stop them. 

_And you use your pain_

_‘Cause it makes you you_

_Though I wish I could hold you through it_

_I know it’s not the same_

_You got livin’ to do_

_And I just want you to do it_

_So get up, get out, relight that spark_

_You know the rest by heart_

_Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_It’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain_

_Wake up your dream and make it true_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_

_Wake up_

_Wake up_

_Better wake those demons_

_Just look them in the eye_

_No reason not to try_

_Life can be a mess_

_I won’t let it cloud my mind_

_I’ll let my fingers fly_

_And I use the pian_

_‘Cause it’s part of me_

_And I’m ready to power through it_

_Gonna find the strength_

_Find the melody_

_‘Cause you showed me how to do it_

_So get up, get out, relight that spark_

_You know the rest by heart_

_Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_It’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain_

_Wake up your dream and make it true_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_

_Wake up_

_Wake up_

_So wake that spirit, spirit_

_I wanna hear it, hear it_

_No need to fear it, you’re not alone_

_You’re gonna find your way home_

On that last note, Luke reached up to run a hand through his hair and accidentally brushed past his face, and it was only then that he realised he was actually crying. God, she was so talented, and there was so much _emotion_ put into that performance. Luke didn’t think he’d ever seen someone put that much of their heart into something. This surpassed Ky’s performance— not on purpose, Julie would never purposefully upstage someone— this surpassed every performance he’d ever seen in his entire _life_ because _holy shit,_ it finally hit home that whatever happened in the rest of their lives, _Julie Molina was going to be a star._

_Wake up, wake up_

_If it’s all you do_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_It’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain_

_So get up, get out, relight that spark_

_You know the rest by heart_

_Wake up your dream and make it true_

_Look out, look inside of you_

_It’s not what you lost_

_Relight that spark, time to come out of the dark_

_Wake up_

_Mmm, wake up_

She got a standing ovation from everyone in the building. Mrs Harrison was tearing up, and when Flynn spared a glance at the back tables, even Andi Parker was wiping tears from her eyes, which had to be a good sign. Her eyes went back to Julie, pride radiating from her at what her best friend had accomplished, before she felt a light squeeze of her hand. Looking down, Flynn realised that Carrie had grabbed her hand at some point during Julie’s song. She made no move to release her even once Julie finished. 

~~Their relationship~~ Whatever they were to each other may be half a secret, but Flynn was grateful for the excuse to lean into Carrie a little more. 

Julie took a few unsteady steps off the stage as the applause continued, and she handed off her mic and music to Lita as she wiped a sleeve across her face in an attempt to dry her eyes. “Hey,” she whispered when she finally got over to her friends. 

Luke stared at her, “Jules, that was… _wow.”_

He was speechless, properly speechless. Luke Patterson, who could write songs about anything and everything at the drop of a hat, was _speechless._

“You ready to go up? Finish the show with the rest of the band?” She gestured to the stage. 

He let out a laugh, incredulous. “You expect us to follow _that?_ We can’t go on after you already brought the house down, _god,_ I don’t even know how to describe that… you were _incredible._ Even if you did tell us in advance, nothing could've prepared me for _that.”_

Julie watched him for a second, before launching herself into his arms and wrapping them around his neck. “Thanks, Luke.” 

His arms tightened around her, half-suspending Julie in mid-air as he buried his face in her hair. After a few moments, he gently set her down on the ground, his hand still lightly on her arm. “So the guys and I… we’ve been thinking about something. About the band.” 

“Yeah?” 

“How would you feel about becoming a full member of Sunset Curve?” 

She beamed up at him, “For real?” 

But before he could answer that question, and Julie could answer his previous one, they were interrupted by none other than Andi Parker. 

“Hi, I’m Andi Parker from Destiny Management? I came to applaud you on your performances, especially that last one.” She smiled at Julie. “Would you be interested in meeting with me at some point?” 

Julie’s eyes widened as she stared at Luke, who was nodding numbly with his mouth open. She turned back to Andi, “Me and _my bandmates_ would love to meet with you.” 

That shocked Luke back into his senses. “Is that a yes?” 

She nodded, and he lifted her up and spun her around before announcing to the entire shop, _“JULIE’S JOINING THE BAND!”_ Which of course led to Alex, Reggie, Bobby, and Flynn, all crashing into Julie and Luke in a massive group hug. 

Andi, who had been slightly pushed away by the arrival of all of the others, laughed to herself. “Yeah, Flynn already has my card. Tell her _I’ll_ be the one getting in touch with _her_ this time.”

☕☕☕

The party at Flynn’s was definitely worth all of the ‘preparations’ for it _._ Willie and Alex were perched on a chair together, Willie consoling Alex about the loss of his drumsticks… which were currently being used for a sword fight between Luke and Reggie as they jumped over various pieces of furniture and shouted _“En garde!”_ repeatedly, because it was the only fencing vocabulary they knew. Julie talked to Lita about Christmas for a bit while Flynn was in charge of the music, and Ky and Bobby were bonding over the fact that they both had sisters who were almost impossible to live with sometimes. 

When the fencing match was over and Alex’s drumsticks were returned, it went from one competition to another and Julie tried to hide her laughter at Luke and Lita as her best friend and her cousin attempted to out-play each other in a guitar riff off. Bobby even donated Lita his electric for the hour just to see the look on Luke’s face if she won. 

Before the competition could get too out of hand— Luke and Lita were the most competitive people Julie had ever met— the furniture was pushed aside to turn Flynn’s main room into a dance area and the guitarists were soon providing backing music for everyone else to dance to. They were mashing up the two guitar parts to the original version and the Sam and Sounds cover of _About You Now._ Naturally, the show was stolen by Carrie, Alex, and Ky, who had the best moves out of everyone. 

This was also how everyone found out that Bobby could _not_ dance, and Carrie was so embarrassed she disappeared into the other room for almost five minutes. If Flynn followed her, no one seemed to notice. 

As the _About You Now_ guitar mashup finished, Lita nudged Luke. “Go dance with the others. I’d come too… but unlike my cousin, my talents are in the realm of _just_ art and music rather than dance, art, and music.” 

Luke laughed, “You sure? Julie keeps looking over here, I think she wants to spend some time with you.” 

“Oh, buddy,” she patted him on the shoulder, “She’s not looking at me.” Lita took his guitar and put it back in its case as Luke walked towards his other friends, sighing in disbelief at how oblivious he was. 

☕☕☕

Julie rolled off her bed at half eight, barely conscious yet somehow unable to sleep in. She grabbed _Wake Up_ from where she left the sheet music on the side last night and slotted it neatly into her dream box. She was about to collapse back on her bed and scroll through the YouTube comments for last night’s performances when she heard the telltale sound of a piece of paper being slid under her door. 

_“You always remember your firsts,_ mija.” That’s what Rose had once told her. 

First kiss, first car, first performance— 

First fanmail. 

Luke hovered outside, waiting until he heard her footsteps before darting back inside his own apartment and gently closing the door, making it as if he’d never been there. 

Julie picked up the piece of paper, but it wasn’t really a piece of paper at all— it was an envelope. It was a _letter._ It was a letter that had been handwritten, in the days of so much technology someone had gone to the trouble of writing her a _handwritten letter,_ and not only was it handwritten, but it was handwritten in the same chicken scratch handwriting that she’d been trying to decipher for the past year. _Luke._ She traced her address on the letter before turning it over and gently opening the envelope. 

_Jules,_

_You know I’ve always been better on paper or in a song than I have in person. Besides, you’re gonna be famous one day— I know it— and I want you to remember this._

_From the day I met you, you never ceased to amaze me. Between the first time I heard you sing, and the first time we wrote a full song together, I knew you were destined for so many great things, and you deserved each and every one of them._

_You’re so incredibly talented, Jules. Forget modesty for a second, because you’re cool like that. Forget paying the compliment back—_ You’re. A. Star. _One day, you’re gonna be up there accepting a Grammy or something, and I’m gonna be in the front row cheering you on like always._

_(Well, maybe not the front row. Sunset Curve needs to reach Taylor Swift levels of popularity before we’re allowed anywhere near the front row, but we’ll definitely be there.)_

_Don’t let the little things stop you from doing what you love. Don’t get too stuck in your own head, when there’s a whole oblivious world out there just_ waiting _to be struck by your awesomeness. Swing that wrecking ball of talent! You have a killer voice, and you need to own it. Last night just proves that even more._

_You’re a part of Sunset Curve now. Well, you’ve been a part of Sunset Curve for a while, it’s just official now. You’re going to take us to the next level, and we’re going to get a million streams, a world tour, and we’re going to be the kind of band that the fans sing our lyrics back to us in a sold-out stadium - I can already see that happening. (Picture it. Take a minute to just picture it, I dare you.)_

_I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again until either you agree with me, or are forced to see that I’m right._ You’re a star, Julie Molina.

_And I’m lucky to know you._

_I’ve never really signed off a letter before… mostly because I’ve never actually really written a letter before, but I think this is how I’m supposed to do it?_

_Your #1 fan,_

_Luke Patterson_

Julie had barely registered the fact that she was crying until she noticed the dampness on her cheeks. She read the letter through again, and then a third time for good measure before taking a photo on her phone just in case something ever happened to it. 

He was sitting on his sofa, scrolling through the comments on the Sunset Curve Instagram post that Flynn put up to announce Julie as a permanent addition to the band when she knocked on the door. He stood up, barely lifting the latch to open it before Julie pushed through and threw her arms around his neck. Luke hugged her tightly, wrapping his arms around her and taking in every part of the moment. Her hands were clenched tightly in the fabric of his shirt and he could feel each of her shaky breaths thanks to the proximity of their two bodies.

“Wasn’t too much?” He laughed weakly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Luke squeezed her reassuringly. “I’m always gonna be in your corner, no matter what.”

“I know.”

They’d said it before, so many times. They didn’t necessarily need to, there were so many other ways to show it in their friendship, but sometimes it was nice to say. But this time— this time it seemed to have that much more of an impact.

 _“Love you, Jules,”_ Luke mumbled, his lips pressed to the top of her head.

_“Love you too."_

But it was when Luke realised he meant that with every fibre of his being, every inch of his soul, with every breath he had ever taken and all the ones after… he realised at some point, something had changed, and he had gone from having a mild crush on his best friend to being _very much in love with her._

_Oh._

And that was when Luke realised… 

He was royally screwed.


	15. It's Beginning To Look A Latte Like Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas!
> 
> Also the Christmas Mashup? Put together by my very talented friend for our Glee Club Christmas performance last year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, this chapter was never supposed to exist. And then I realised where we were in this universe timewise and went, 'oh shit, open mic night is in december' so now i'm giving you christmas content. 
> 
> Secondly, who likes the pun in the title lol

“You ready to go?” Luke scrolled through the new app on his phone, one earphone hanging out to hear the pronunciations as he followed along with the words. Flynn had sent him the link after he called in a panic the night before, realisation suddenly setting in that he was meeting Julie’s family for the first time and at _Christmas_ no less. He had to make a decent first impression. Needless to say, he’d managed to get out of bed an hour and a half early to get a head start. _Lesson complete._ A bell chimed in his ear. _Practice every day to continue your streak and reach your goal!_ “He eats apples,” Luke translated quietly to himself, tapping in the translation for the corresponding Spanish. 

“What was that?” Julie appeared, bag slung over her arm. 

He shut the phone and recovered quickly, “Oh, I said are you ready to go?” 

“Yeah,” she grinned. “A week of Christmas things with me and my family, you’ll be sick of us by the time New Years comes around.” 

Luke rolled his eyes, “Can’t ever imagine that happening.” 

Bobby had lent them his car for the trip since he was spending Christmas with the rest of his family and Carrie could just chauffeur him wherever. Since Lita had gone up ahead a few days before, that left Julie and Luke driving up together. Julie offered to take the first shift and Luke agreed, promising to take over at the halfway mark in a couple of hours. 

While Julie drove, Luke tried to learn Spanish. He remembered taking it briefly in high school and scraping a passing grade, but in the years that had passed since, all of his Spanish-related knowledge had seemed to evaporate. Luke did remember getting increasingly annoyed back in his sophomore year that there was a formal and informal you. How were you supposed to know which one to use?

Julie’s eyes strayed to the right and she caught sight of the intense look of concentration that plagued Luke’s face. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he cursed to himself quietly and she rolled her eyes. Maybe it was better to leave him be. 

He didn’t _mean_ to accidentally click _‘Juan’_ instead of _‘manzanas’_ and now he’d only gone and lost a life because he accidentally answered _‘you like to eat Juan’_ instead of _‘you like to eat apples’._ It was a nightmare, honestly. _Lesson complete._

Thank god. 

Maybe he could just skip ahead a little bit? Well, Luke recognised _some_ of the words from before. But he doubted he’d have to to point and label fruits anytime soon. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to see what the options were for the intermediate settings? _Take a test to jump ahead!_ Luke scanned the translation options before trying to work it out. The first question was easy enough, just like the same kind of things he’d been doing that morning. The second question jumped straight into a whole fast sentence and he blinked, trying to remember what had been said before replaying the audio. He managed to recreate it using the word options at the bottom of the screen. _You’re doing great!_ The little green owl reminded him, and he risked a glance at Julie as she bobbed her head to the music coming out of the car’s speakers. 

A few minutes later, and he could confidently say (with an appalling accent that he didn’t want to practice out loud just yet, but at least he was getting there) casual phrases like “We want to eat a chicken dish”, despite the fact that it was Christmas and he had no idea how to say Turkey in Spanish yet. But it was _progress._

☕☕☕

The journey there went off without a hitch, and they took a break halfway to go to the toilet and grab some snacks, which let Luke sit in the car with his headphones in and try to improve his accent. Of course, he didn’t completely realise as Julie came back and had to pretend he was on the phone to Alex and not talking to himself in another language when she opened the car door and watched him in confusion. 

With six days until Christmas, it was an appropriate time to have Christmas albums on, which led to a full out Christmas singing competition, including belting out _All I Want For Christmas Is You_ so loud (even with the windows up) that they got strange looks from the cars passing by. 

Until Julie spotted the Christmas marked and squealed, forcing Luke to slam on the breaks. “Fuck, Jules! That could’ve passed for a coloratura!” 

She narrowed her eyes at him for a second, “Since when do you listen to— nevermind. _Look!_ I used to go to that place all the time with my parents and Carlos at Christmas because it was just under halfway between our house and Tia’s! We have to go.” 

“We’re…” Luke glanced at the GPS. “An hour and a half away from your parents’ place. Are you sure?” 

“I’ll text my Mom and explain, honestly she’ll probably ask us to bring us back chocolate-covered fudge. It was tradition,” she replied with a grin. “Please?” For once, it was Julie using puppy dog eyes on Luke, not the other way around. It didn’t take long for either of them to realise he was just as susceptible to hers as she was to his. 

“Let’s go,” he sighed, pulling over and parking the car. “So what’s so great about this place anyway?” 

“The hot cocoa for a start. You should take notes for Mrs H’s place,” Julie teased, grabbing his hand to pull him out of the car. “Come on!” She dragged him towards the Christmas lights that lit the way to the entrance and bought them tickets to go into the market. “First stop is obviously the ferris wheel, because the layout of everything changes every year and we need to know where everything is.” 

Luke let her lead him through the crowd towards the ferris wheel— which by some stroke of luck only had six people in the queue— and it wasn’t long before the ride worker was pulling the bar down over their laps and the wheel was beginning to turn. Luke gripped the bar tightly, his knuckles turning white. He wasn’t afraid of heights, so to speak, he was just afraid of _falling_ from them. 

She nudged him. “You good?” 

“Fine,” he choked out. “Nice view.” 

If he focused on the distance, rather than the _below,_ then it was fine. Almost. Julie gently pried his fingers up from the bar and took his hand in hers, drawing soft circles across the back of his hand with her thumb. “Carlos was the same,” she explained. “But we’d get to his point—” The ride jolted and stopped with them at the very top— “And he’d actually take in how awesome everything was, and he’d be okay, just for a few minutes. And then he’d bury his face in my hair on the way back down. Also, you should’ve said something before we came up! I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” 

“It’s fine,” he repeated, shaking his head. “Having a great time.” 

_“Luke.”_

“How long is it going to be stopped for?” Luke bounced his leg nervously, jolting the small car even more. 

_“Luke,”_ she whispered. “Look.” He followed her outstretched arm as she pointed to the different parts of the market. “They have an ice rink this year! Shit, look at the tree,” Julie gasped, leaning over the rail to get a better look. “It’s _massive.”_

Luke’s grip on her hand tightened a little and his other arm released the railing to hover hesitantly next to her in case the ride jolted— which it did, when it started moving again— and he had to grab Julie to stop her from falling out. She giggled as it wobbled, using her other hand to grab hold of Luke’s arm for support. “If we die from this, Jules, I’m haunting you for the rest of eternity.” 

She snorted, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “Three things. One, I assume we’d both be dead, so you can’t exactly haunt me. Two, you’re so overly dramatic, Patterson. Three, I guess there are worse people to be stuck with for all of eternity.” 

“Aww,” he grinned. “Love you too.” 

☕☕☕

They’d made their way around everything but the ice rink and a few of the remaining stalls by the time it started to get dark. Clinging to each other to stay upright, Julie had one hand gripping the side of the rink and the other tightly wrapped in Luke’s, who was still bitter about ending up on the inside. “‘Let’s go skating!’ you said. ‘It’ll be fun!’ you said,” he muttered, shooting her a look. “My ass is _wet.”_

“Maybe you shouldn’t have fallen on it then,” Julie replied matter-of-factly. 

“I’m pretty sure that was _your_ fault, actually. You know, considering you tripped over your skates and decided to take me down with you,” Luke raised his eyebrows at her. 

“If it makes you feel any better,” she smirked. “I’m completely dry.” 

“Thanks, it doesn’t,” he shot back, ignoring her smug look. “And you know what? I’m getting my own back.” Luke slipped behind her and gently lifted her hand from the railing and used it to spin Julie around before pulling her behind him into the centre of the rink and taking the skating equivalent of two steps back. 

Julie glared at him, putting her arms out to keep herself upright and also to grab at him, but Luke was just out of her reach. “Lucas Patterson, I am going to _kill_ you.” 

“You’d have to be able to reach me to do that,” he teased, skating within range and then out of it again. “So that’s pretty unfortunate, dude.” 

“I hate you,” she laughed, moving forward unsteadily as she tried to catch his sleeve as he passed. “Heathen.” 

He shrugged innocently before folding his arms. “I think if you tried hard enough, you could _probably_ catch me.” Luke circled her once more. “Or we could just keep doing this until you admit you actually need help.” 

“I don’t need help, I think I’m doing fine!” She laughed. “See? I’m still upright.” 

“Upright and _stationary,”_ he pointed out. 

Julie let out a frustrated huff, before turning her foot to the side and using it to push off, launching herself at Luke. He yelped in surprise as they both hit the ice, her practically straddling him as she grinned triumphantly. “Bet upright and stationary’s looking pretty good now, huh?” 

He let out a breathless laugh, their faces inches apart. Two thoughts ran through Luke’s mind. 

One: it would be ridiculously easy to kiss her right now. 

Two: if she didn’t want that to happen, things would be awkward from here until they went back to their apartments. He could effectively ruin Christmas. 

But if she _wasn’t_ opposed to the idea… 

Luke’s eyes dropped momentarily, before he forced his gaze away from Julie’s lips and back onto her eyes. “Fancy getting some of that hot cocoa you were raving about earlier? I could do with warming up.” 

“Yep,” she squeaked, somehow managing to get back onto her feet without falling on top of Luke as he did the same. She slipped her hand into his and he looked at it in surprise. “I guess I need a _little_ help getting back to the side,” she admitted. “Just a bit.” 

He laughed, “Alright.”

She held onto him as they slowly made their way to the side. Was she imagining it, or did it almost look like— _no. Don’t be ridiculous._ Luke was her best friend. They were close, but they weren’t _close._ Her feelings were strictly platonic. Sure, he was probably her type, but there was no way she would risk their friendship, or the band. When they got to the Molina house, Lita was probably going to try and drop hints that she never brought _Isaac_ to Christmas in all the years they were dating. Julie almost caught herself rolling her eyes at the thought prematurely. 

They waited in line for the hot cocoa and Luke was reluctant to admit that it was pretty good— on par, even, with Mrs Harrison’s. It took several prompts from Julie for him to admit this out loud, because his loyalty was to Mrs H’s, not this random hot cocoa stand in an LA Christmas market with freakishly good hot cocoa. Julie pushed all weird thoughts out of her mind and hooked her arm through Luke’s, leading him towards one of the stalls off the side. “This was my mom’s favourite place whenever we came here. Every time we came we’d get like a badge or a bracelet or something.” 

Julie froze in front of one of the little displays, letting go of Luke’s arm to look at the necklace in front of her. “It’s a dahlia,” she whispered, before looking back at him to explain. “My mom’s favourite flower.” 

Looking back on it, Luke wondered how he’d never noticed the dahlias before. There was a dahlia pin on one of her backpacks, there was one painted onto one of her pairs of jeans, she always had a vase of them on the side in her kitchen… “It’s cool,” he finally replied. 

“Yeah,” she agreed, before walking around one of the other displays to look at the other parts of the stall. 

He tapped on the counter next to the register and raised a finger to his lips when the woman turned around, subtly cocking his head in Julie’s direction as he slid the necklace across the counter along with a few bills. “For her,” he mouthed. 

The woman smiled and nodded, ringing it up on the register before handing him the necklace in a little pouch along with the receipt. “She’s a lucky girl.” 

Luke let out a soft laugh, “Believe me, I’m the lucky one.” 

“Pick another charm to put on it, no charge,” she winked at him. Luke smiled at her, nodding a thank you as he looked at the other charms available and slid the necklace pouch into his pocket. It didn’t occur to him until after he’d put the little treble clef charm in the pouch with it that the woman probably meant that comment as if they were _together_ together. Huh. 

“You ready to go to your parents’ house now?” He called over to her, the present safely stowed in his pocket. 

Julie nodded and tucked herself under his arm as they walked, still sipping her hot cocoa. 

☕☕☕

“We’re so screwed,” Luke groaned. “Bobby’s going to kill me.” 

“This is my fault, I suggested we go to the market…” Julie sighed, staring at the spot where the car should have been. 

While they were in the Christmas market, the car got towed. According to one of the cashiers at the mini-mart opposite, it would be at an impound lot nearby, where you need at least $400 to bail it out. _Fuck._

“Not your fault. Blame my shitty parking. I have…” Luke checked his account balance. “Literally sixty-two bucks to my name. Shit.”

“Forty bucks cash on me right now— my new card hasn’t arrived yet. Still doesn’t explain how we’re going to make up the remaining two ninety-eight,” she replied, kicking the curb with her boot. “I’m going to text my dad and tell them to have dinner without us, say we decided to spend a little longer at the market and eat out. He’ll worry otherwise.” 

“You could just ask him for help?” Luke suggested weakly. 

Julie laughed, “You’ve not met my Tia yet, but if she knew what situation we’re in right now she would probably have a heart attack. The trick is with things like this is you tell her _after_ the event, so she can laugh with you about it afterwards without the anxiety that I could die.” 

“These things?” He asked incredulously. “How many times has stuff like this happened to you?” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to remind you about the time that _your_ car broke down and we ended up stuck in the middle of nowhere for the night?” 

“That’s fair,” he sighed, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. “What now? How do we get the money?” He waved at Julie, trying to get her attention, but she was looking past him at a notice in the window of Starbucks. 

“How else do stranded musicians get the money they need to get their friend’s car out of car jail during the holiday season?” A grin slowly spread across Julie’s face as Luke spun around to see what she was looking at. “A conveniently placed Christmas karaoke competition.” 

_Do you sing? Do you need cash before Christmas?_

_Krystal’s Bar is hosting a seasonal KARAOKE COMPETITION!_

_Grand prize: $300_

“I’m not imagining this, right? This is crazy—?” Luke stared at the poster in disbelief. 

“Coincidence,” Julie replied at the same time as Luke pumped his fist and shouted the word “FATE!”

☕☕☕

Someone was just finishing their rendition of _Feliz Navidad_ when Julie and Luke burst through the doors of Krystal’s. As another guy stood up to start singing _Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town_ as Julie and Luke put their names on the list. Most of the usual songs were taken, which left a few of the dodgy ones, and one mashup which they’d never heard before. 

“All the good ones are gone,” Luke groaned. “We’re never getting the car back.” 

Julie glanced at him. “If it’s fate, like you said, then we _could_ just go for the mashup and it’ll all work out.” 

He considered it for a second before replying, “I think we can do this.” 

“Then let’s do it.” Julie put down the code for the mashup and crossed it off the list of remaining songs. 

“Do we get to listen to the song first?” Luke asked the guy behind the bar. 

He snorted. “You’re entering a karaoke competition without having heard the song? Ballsy. Good luck to ya.” 

“I’ll take that as a no then,” Julie shrugged, taking a seat. “It’s almost over, we’re on after this.” 

“Singing a song we’ve never heard. This is crazy,” Luke laughed. 

The guy in charge announced that it was their turn, and they took to the stage. Julie breathed a sigh of relief when she recognised the first song - _Merry Christmas Everyone._ She took the lead and grabbed the first mic. 

_Snow is falling_

_All around me_

_Children playing, having fun_

_‘Tis the season, of love and understanding_

_Merry Christmas everyone_

Luke jumped in next to her, both of them walking across the small stage together. When it finally got to the ‘and exchanging kisses’ line, he held out his face and tapped his cheek expectantly. She rolled her eyes and flicked the space he’d been pointing to before giving him a gentle shove away, gaining some laughs from the crowd. 

_Time for parties_

_And celebrations_

_People dancing all night long_

_Time for presents_

_And exchanging kisses_

_Time for singing Christmas songs_

The song slowed down slightly and caught Julie off guard, but Luke jumped in as soon as he recognised the song, making his way to the edge of the stage and pulling Julie with him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She cut in for the second verse and grinned at him, before they sang the final bit together. 

_Oh, the weather outside is frightful_

_But the fire is so delightful_

_But since we’ve no place to go_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow_

_It doesn’t show signs of stopping_

_And i’ve brought some corn for popping_

_The lights are turned way down low_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

_And when we finally kiss goodnight_

_Oh, I hate going out in the storm_

_But if you really hold me tight_

_All the way home I’ll be warm_

The key changed at the end of ‘warm’, to match up with the ‘just’ in _Sleigh Ride,_ and if the lyrics weren’t on the board above them to clue them into the song, they never would’ve got there in time. 

_Just hear those sleigh bells ringing_

_And ting ting tingling too_

_Come on it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you_

_Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling you_

_Come on it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you_

_Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up let’s go_

_Let’s look at the show_

_We’re riding in a wonderland of snow_

_Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up it’s grand_

_Just holding your hand_

_We’re riding along with the snow in a wintery fairyland_

The lyrics on the board told them about the instrumental break during the song change and Luke took that chance to spin Julie around in time to the song, spinning her under his arm as they both burst out laughing. The mashup had exceeded expectations, that was for sure. It was actually better quality than they expected. Julie took the next verse, with Luke joining in for _‘deck the halls with boughs of holly’_ as she held the mic between them to share.

_You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear_

_Voices singing lets be jolly_

_Deck the halls with boughs of holly_

_Rocking around the christmas tree_

_Have a happy holiday_

_Everyone’s dancing merrily in a good old fashioned way_

As Julie held onto the final note of _‘way’,_ Luke threw his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, ditching his mic in favour of sharing hers so they could harmonise the ending like they were singing it just to each other. 

_So have yourself_

_A merry little Christmas_

_Now…_

If they weren’t so in sync, they never would’ve pulled that off. “That… wasn’t terrible,” Julie laughed, grinning. 

“It’s fate, baby!” Luke cheered, coaxing her into a bow for the audience. 

Julie pulled a face, “Don’t ever say that again.” 

“Noted.” 

☕☕☕

They waited at a table in the corner, neither wanting to buy a drink in case it diminished their remaining funds on the chance that they _didn’t_ win. (They were going to win, Luke could feel it, but it didn’t hurt to be practical.) 

“What do we do if we don’t win?” Julie hissed. “All of our stuff is in that car?” 

“We’re going to win, Jules,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Fate, remember?” 

She scoffed. “It’s probably not fate.” But Julie relaxed a little and put her feet up on the spare chair opposite her until the two judges were ready to announce the winners. 

Apparently, there were three parts to judging a karaoke competition. Lyrics, telling the story, and audience reactions. It didn’t make much sense, but since neither Julie or Luke were professional karaoke competitions, they decided not to question it. By the time the two judges had finished deciding, they moved onto the stage with matching grins. 

“So, it was a tough decision… but it’s a tie,” the first judge explained. “Dean and Elise with their cover of _Santa Baby,_ and Julie and Luke with their cover of the ultimate Christmas mashup.”

“We won,” Luke whispered to Julie. 

“We _tied,”_ she groaned. “What happens now?” 

Luckily, Dean and Elise were a lot more expressive in their opinions against ties. They wanted the money— _all_ of it— and they were willing to fight for it. The two of them burst onto the stage and started complaining, and with nothing else to do, Julie and Luke followed them quietly. 

“What about a tiebreaker?” Dean suggested. “So we can see who are _really_ the winners?” 

Julie sighed. “It’s literally a Christmas karaoke competition, it’s not _that_ big a deal.” 

“So you concede?” Elise raised an eyebrow and Julie snorted. 

“You wish.” 

The judges had clearly been expecting this outcome, because when they reappeared, they did so each carrying two mics. Julie found a mic thrust into her hands and Luke barely had time to process what was happening before the music started up and the lyrics appeared on the screen. Luke recognised the song as _All I Want For Christmas Is You,_ and didn’t even need to prompt Julie before she started first, sending a smug look at the other duo. 

_I don’t want a lot for Christmas_

_There is just one thing I need_

_I don’t care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree_

Luke joined in, _“I just want you for my own…”_

_More than you could ever know_

_Make my wish come true_

Elise cut in, stepping towards them. _“All I want for Christmas is—”_

Only to be cut off by Julie. _“You…”_

So maybe their competitiveness was about to come out full force, but it was going to make for one hell of a show for the people watching. There was a short instrumental before the next verse, which Dean started to sing, with Elise chiming in. 

_I don’t want a lot for Christmas_

_There is just one thing I need_

_(And I) Don’t care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree_

Julie opened her mouth to sing but was drowned out by Elise as her mic cut out. She frowned, looking around for the source of the problem only to find a shifty looking Dean holding the other end of the cable. 

_I don’t need to hang my stocking_

_There upon the fireplace_

_Santa Claus won’t make me happy_

_With a toy on Christmas day_

She scoffed at their attempt at sabotage and simply dropped her mic, voting to share Luke’s instead as they took the next part. _“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know…”_

_Make my wish come true_

_All I want for Christmas is you_

Elise glared at them. Luke grinned as he held his mic out towards Julie. She leaned towards him, _“You, baby.”_

_I won’t ask for much this Christmas_

_I won’t even wish for snow_

_(And I) I’m just gonna keep on waiting_

_Underneath the mistletoe_

_“I won’t make a list and send it to the North Pole for Saint Nick,”_ Dean cut back in, ‘borrowing’ Elise’s mic— much to her chagrin— and moving himself towards the centre of the stage. _“I won’t even stay up late to hear those magic reindeer click.”_

 _“‘Cause I just want you here tonight,”_ Luke sang into his mic, simultaneously managing to spin Julie into him so that she was flush against his chest for a moment. Luke held the mic in front of them both and leant over her shoulder so they could share again. _“Holding on to me so tight.”_

She rolled her eyes, shrugging as she took the mic off him, _“What more can I do?”_

Dean pointed at Elise before giving her the mic back, _“Oh baby, all I want for Christmas is you!”_

Julie walked backwards across the stage, pulling Luke towards her by his shirt to put on a show. _“Oh, all the lights are shining so brightly everywhere.”_

He leant in to echo the _“So brightly, baby,”_ part.

 _“And the sound of children’s laughter fills the air,”_ she spun around to face the audience. _“And everyone is singing…”_

Luke leant over her shoulder again, _“I hear those sleigh bells ringing…”_

_Santa won’t you bring me the one I really need?_

_Won’t you please bring my baby to me?_

_“Oh, I don’t want a lot for Christmas, this is all I’m asking for…”_ One of the judges managed to fix the other microphone and Dean caught it as he came in with the next verse. _“Oh, I just wanna see my baby standing right outside my door…”_

_I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know_

_Make my wish come true_

_Oh baby, all I want for Christmas is…_

Julie cut back in for the _“You…”_ holding the note as long as possible as Luke did the echoes in the background, drowning out any hope Elise and Dean thought they had for procuring a victory. 

The judges shuffled back onto the stage. “Votes for Elise and Dean?” A few of the audience cheered. “Julie and Luke?” 

Well that was their answer. 

“The winners of this year's Christmas karaoke competition are Julie and Luke!” 

☕☕☕

Luke hammered against the tow truck guy’s office window. “We have the money for the car! You took our car!” He shouted breathlessly when the man finally pulled up the blinds. The dude rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. 

“License and registration?” 

“My license is literally in the car,” he deadpanned, before reeling off the number plate and handing over the money. 

The guy followed them over to the car as Luke made a show of using the key to unlock it and retrieve his drivers' license from the glove box to prove a point. When the gates were finally open and they were back out on the road to drive to the Molinas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woke up this morning and decided to change all the previous chapter titles to coffee related puns, so i'll be doing that soon


	16. Better Latte Than Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas part two ;)
> 
> yes there is fluff
> 
> and also the mental image of lita crawling through a window to surprise attack luke in a game of laser tag (no i will not elaborate)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took a little longer than intended since I had to revisit my Christmas spirit lol

They’d missed dinner by the time they collapsed through the Molinas’ front door. The food had been kept warm for them and Rose, Ray, Victoria, Carlos and Lita were all in the living room when they finally arrived. Each of them took it in turn to bring them in for hugs, even though Luke felt awkward at first due to the fact that he _hadn’t actually met most of them before._ This didn’t seem to deter any of the members of Julie’s family. 

And then Luke got a proper look at Rose and put it all together. Rose + “used to be in a band” + “plays guitar” + putting a face to the name and _“Holy shit,”_ he whispered. 

Julie raised an eyebrow, “What?” 

“You didn’t tell me your mom was Rose as in _Rose and the Petal Pushers?”_ He stared. 

Rose burst out laughing, “I like this one. He can come here anytime.” 

Luke continued to stare at Rose. 

Carlos snorted, whispering to Lita. “What’s wrong with Julie’s boyfriend?” 

“I think he’s glitching,” she replied with a smirk. “And they’re not dating… yet.” 

Luke transferred his gaze between Julie and Rose repeatedly. “I’m… going to need a minute to process this. Reg is going to cry when I tell him. When we were teenagers he was crushing on your drummer _so hard._ He had you guys’ poster on his wall.” He spun back around to Rose, still trying to make sense of it.

“Chill, fanboy,” Julie patted him on the back. “We can discuss how weird this is for me _after_ we finish the pasteles.” She glanced at Lita and mouthed, “This is weird, right?” 

“This is _hilarious,”_ her cousin replied out loud. “He totally used to crush on your mom, it’s written all over his face.” 

Luke felt his cheeks heating up. “I— I didn’t. What? No!” 

Julie dragged him into the kitchen with a sigh while Ray and Rose exchanged looks. 

“You’re enjoying this,” Ray whispered. “Maybe a little too much.” 

“Who, me?” She replied with a grin, feigning innocence. “Hey, Luke?” Rose followed her daughter and Luke into the kitchen. “Did you bring a guitar with you? Julie says you play.” 

Carlos sighed to himself before going in after them. “He loses points for crushing on my mom. That’s just… _too weird.”_

☕☕☕

With only two days left until Christmas, the previous four had gone by all too quickly. Julie’s favourite part was how easily Luke slotted into things with her family. She expected it to take at least a day or two for him to settle in, but that was evidently not the case as from the moment they walked in, he became a part of the family. Well, he’d been a part of Julie’s family for some time now, but there was something about seeing him, Lita and Carlos playing Mario Kart that made her heart flutter. 

She passed Luke in a heated debate with Lita about which Sunset Curve song had the superior bridge and rolled her eyes as she waved at them before pointing to the studio. Luke nodded in acknowledgement before pleading _Bright’s_ case, but Lita continued to insist that it was _Finally Free._

“I’ll raise you one,” Julie called out as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and pushed the door open with her foot. _“Edge of Great.”_

“Hang on—” Lita called after her, but the door had already swung shut. 

Julie tried to hide her laughter at the interaction as she pulled open the doors to the studio. Her mom was sitting on the piano bench, and she looked up when she saw her and smiled. “Morning, _mija.”_ Rose patted the seat next to her. “I’ve been wanting to show you something.” 

“What’s up?” Julie sat down on the seat and looked at the sheet music on top of the piano. “Hey, I remember working on this. We never finished it.” 

“I want you to have it,” she passed the papers over. “Work on it with Luke. Sing it with your band. Don’t let it go to waste.” 

“But it’s _your_ song,” she frowned, surprised. 

Rose shook her head. “It was our song, now it’s _your_ song,” she nodded her head in the direction of the house. “Speaking of your songs… You know what song I’ve had stuck in my head for the past week? _Flying Solo.”_

“The song I wrote for Flynn’s birthday back in High School?” Julie laughed. “Double Trouble. I still have the t-shirt. You know what song I’ve had stuck in my head?” 

“What?”

 _“City Limits,_ from your first album,” she confessed. 

Her mom raised an eyebrow. “You still listen to my old music?” 

“Occasionally,” Julie admitted. “But this time it’s because Luke has been humming it under his breath the _entire_ past few days.” She rested her hand on the piano keys and played the first few notes of the right-hand part, singing the first line under her breath. 

Rose nudged her and she continued to sing the first verse as her mother played the piano next to her. By the time they got to the pre-chorus, Lita burst in, her musical sixth sense activated. “Y’all are playing _City Limits_ without me? Shame on you! You know it’s my favourite,” she scowled at them as she grabbed her electric guitar and plugged it into one of the amps. 

Luke hovered in the doorway for a bit. The past few days had been amazing, but it was also still hard to wrap his head around. In front of him stood Julie, singing her heart out to one of his all-time favourite songs, which just happened to be written and performed by her mom’s old band? Julie’s hair fanned out behind her head as the light from the window behind her silhouetted her curls and for a second he wanted to watch rather than actually go inside. 

The moment Julie caught sight of him, that plan changed. “Luke!” She beckoned him over as Lita and Rose took the verse. “Come on!” She pointed to his guitar which was resting on one of the stands nearby for the duration of the visit and he picked it up without objection. 

What, like he _wouldn’t_ know the chords to a song that’s been on his playlists for almost as long as he could remember? 

He nodded his head at Julie and she joined him, dancing as he played his guitar around her. 

Neither of them noticed Rose and Lita sharing a knowing look. 

☕☕☕

Luke shifted from foot to foot as he knocked on Julie’s bedroom door. No answer. He hadn’t been able to sleep. Part of him knew that he should just leave it. Maybe try to fall asleep again and manage to write some lyrics around two am. The other part of him desperately wanted Julie. Not for any particular reason, just _Julie._ He wanted to see her, to hear her voice. She didn’t even have to talk about anything important, he just wanted her _there._ Although as soon as he’d managed to remember which bedroom was hers and had been about to knock on the door, _Kiss The Girl_ from The Little Mermaid had been playing in the back of his mind. 

He tried to shake it off, but the song continued. It almost sounded like— 

Lita. 

Lita was singing the song quietly as she leant against the wall behind him, one foot propped up flat against the wall with a sketchbook balanced on one arm. She raised an eyebrow at him, sporting a mischevious look. “What? I’m hoping if I sing it enough, it’ll be ingrained into your subconscious until you actually do it. You know, like subliminal advertising.” 

“How long have you been standing there?” 

“Long enough,” she shrugged. “And she’s not in there. She’s in the studio.” Lita smirked at him, giving a two-fingered mock salute at him as she backed down the hallway and disappeared into her own room. “Night.” 

He tried to ignore the fact that Lita was hellbent on playing matchmaker as he padded softly down the stairs in his socks and only sliding his shoes on once he got to the front door to make the short journey from the house to the studio. Luke pushed the door open to find her seated at the piano in her pjs, a determined look on her face. For a moment, his mind went blank and he forgot what he was doing there. 

“I’ll go to bed soon,” she waved at him dismissively, and Luke suppressed a laugh. Clearly some of the sound still escaped because Julie looked up, surprised to see him. “Sorry,” she sighed. “Old habits die hard. I spent a lot of time out here back when I still lived with my parents. What’s up?” 

Luke sank down onto the piano stool next to her and put his hands on the keys, their little fingers brushing. Julie could tell something was wrong instantly. 

Luke Patterson was, to some degree, like an open book. But the type of book seemed to vary. Sometimes he’d be like a picture book and every thought that crossed mind would be obvious to literally anyone paying attention, and sometimes… sometimes he’d be like one of those stupid little pink voice-activated diaries that were impossible to open unless you said the specific passcode in the specific tone of voice you recorded it in. He’d close himself off and you’d never be able to get anything out of him. Julie tried to gauge where he was at in that scale carefully, not wanting to push him too much. 

“You’re up late,” she noted. 

“So are you.” 

Julie pursed her lips. Apparently she’d have to do better than that. “I’m working on a song. What’s your excuse?” 

“Working on a song with you?” He suggested weakly. 

She bumped her shoulder against his. “Nice try.” 

“What’s that thing Flynn says? About the empty head?” 

Julie fought the smile that threatened her lips. “‘No thoughts, head empty’?” 

“Imagine that, but the opposite. Sometimes there’s just too much going on,” he admitted. Did any of that make sense? Probably not. “Can I see the song?” 

She didn’t push any further just yet. “It’s called _Stand Tall._ I started it with my mom a while back. She gave it to me to finish. Want to help?” 

“What have you got so far?” 

Julie played the piano intro on repeat as she talked him through it. “We have a first verse, pre-chorus, and we have most of the chorus. So it starts like… _Don’t blink, no I don’t want to miss it, one thing and it’s back to the beginning, ‘cause everything is rushing in fast, keep going on never look back… And it’s one, two, three, four times that I’ll try for one more night, light a fire in my eyes, I’m going out of my mind.”_

_Whatever happens even if I’m the last standing_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

_Whatever happens even when everything’s down_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

_I gotta keep on dreaming_

_‘Cause I gotta catch that feeling_

_Whatever happens even if I’m the last standing_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

“And then we need the rest of the verses…” 

Luke paused, humming it under his breath for a minute. _“Right now I’m loving every minute… something something, can’t let myself forget it?”_

“Hands down, can’t let myself forget it?” She suggested. 

“Yes!” 

_Right now I’m loving every minute_

_Hands down, can’t let myself forget it_

“And then…” Julie moved back to the chords for the pre-chorus. _“‘Cause everything is rushing in fast, keep holding on, never look back… and it’s one, two, three, four times that I’ll try for one more night, light a fire in my eyes…”_

Luke grinned, _“I’m going out of my mind!”_

_Whatever happens even if I’m the last standing_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

_Whatever happens even when everything’s down_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

_I gotta keep on dreaming_

_‘Cause I gotta catch that feeling_

_Whatever happens even if I’m the last standing_

_I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall_

“What about for the bridge?” 

“Leave that for now, but I think we gotta go from that straight onto a more toned-down version of the chorus?” He closed his eyes to imagine it in real-time. “Like imagine if we gave Alex and Reg solos?” 

“Brilliant,” she agreed. “And then we could all come back in one by one and harmonise on the last stand tall? Like _I’ma stand tall, stand tall…”_

 _“Stand tall!_ And then the chorus again?”

“Before we circle back to the bridge… are you okay?” Julie finally laid the question on him. “My family can be a bit much sometimes…” She had a feeling that probably wasn’t the case, but they needed _something_ to bridge the gap before he started talking. 

“That’s not it, Jules. That’s not it at all, I promise,” he sighed, letting his head drop onto her shoulder. “They’re awesome.”

She stood up and tugged him towards the sofa, sheet music in hand. “We can work the rest out on the couch. The piano part’s basically finished anyway.” 

He didn’t object as she dropped onto the couch and curled up next to him. 

“Christmas…” Luke was close to explaining, he really was… it was just hard to put into words. “When I left my parents.” He finished. “It was Christmas.” He squeezed his eyes shut and willed the tears not to come from talking about it. 

“Sounds hard,” she said quietly, taking his hand in hers. “I’m sorry, Luke.” 

He leant back and pulled her towards him. Sometimes it was all he could think about— the fighting, and then the silence when he left. Then the silence would become too loud and he’d only be able to focus on the fighting, and it would all become too much and—

And Julie made it easier. 

Luke couldn’t explain it, really. If someone asked him to put the effect she had on him into words he probably wouldn’t be able to. The closest thing to it would be to say that she grounded him, but it was more than that, _so much_ _more_ than that. It wasn’t like she made the quiet louder (in a good way) or the loud quieter, she just seemed to make the bad parts of everything more bearable. 

They bounced ideas for the bridge off each other for an hour or so, tweaking bits here and there until it was perfect before falling asleep on the couch. 

The couch pulls out into a bed, but they didn’t get that far. 

And if Lita walked in on them in the morning before slowly backing out with a smug grin on her face, neither of them were aware. 

☕☕☕

Luke tried to press snooze when his alarm went off, and succeeded in knocking his phone off the bedside table. He sat up grouchily and rubbed his eyes before leaning half off the bed and fumbling around to grab his phone. The moment he made contact with the worn-down case, it started to buzz with messages from Alex, Reggie and Bobby, wishing him a happy Christmas. The band group chat vibrated with a question from Flynn about them potentially doing a holiday album next year and he rolled his eyes. Sunset Curve was _never_ doing a holiday album. 

He dragged himself out of bed and got changed, throwing on the beanie that Reggie got him last Christmas that partially resembled a Santa hat because he knew it would make Julie laugh. Luke could already hear muffled voices from the hallway when he opened the door, and he laughed when he found Lita complaining to Carlos. _“Dude, you’re younger, you’re supposed to be shorter than me! Stop growing!”_

Julie emerged from her bedroom across the hall, still in her pyjamas but with a soft grin on her face as she shuffled down the hall in her slippers, watching her brother and cousin and rolling her eyes. She looked up at Luke and nodded to the stairs, “Coming?” 

“Merry Christmas,” he whispered, falling into step beside her. 

“Merry Christmas,” she yawned, bumping her shoulder against his as they went down the stairs. 

The others were already sitting down on the floor next to the tree. Lita pushed a parcel towards Julie with a shout of “Jules, open mine first!” as she caught the gift tossed at her from Carlos. She shook it, lifting the box up towards her ear. “Guitar picks?” 

“Or it’s broken,” he replied with a shrug. “Wow, these night vision goggles are awesome!” 

“I know,” she grinned back at him. “I support my cousin and all of his weird endeavours.” 

Julie unwrapped the present from Lita and smiled, it was a photo book of sorts, except each of the memories inside was hand-drawn, with the whole thing carefully stuck together. “How did you even get this?” 

Luke leaned over her shoulder, eager to see what it was. It was a black and white sketch of Julie and _him,_ from the night they fell asleep in Julie’s mom’s studio. His head was resting on top of hers from where they’d fallen asleep on the couch, and she was curled into him in a way that was almost reminiscent of the night they spent in his car all those months ago. One of his hands was buried between her curls as her head lay on his chest, the other curled tightly around her protectively to keep her from falling off. His gaze shifted from the drawing to Julie who was looking at it with a mixture of wonder and something else he couldn’t quite place. 

“You’re really talented, dude,” he told Lita. 

She shrugged, “Y’all are hella photogenic. It was fun.”

Ray passed a present to Julie over the top of Carlos’ head, and Luke cringed at his own wrapping skills. “For you, _mija,_ from…” 

“Me,” Luke sighed, wishing he had better handwriting. He leant towards Julie and lowered his voice. “It’s one of two, by the way.”

She took it carefully and slid her finger under the tape. One of the flaps popped up and she pulled the small box out. This wasn’t the last-minute, spur of the moment, gift from the Christmas market, this was an idea that Luke had been sitting on for a while, waiting for the perfect song for it. Julie ran her hand along the top. “Ooh, a music box.” 

“Wind it up and open it,” he nudged her. 

Julie wound up the ratchet lever and opened the lid.

The song was _Wake Up._

“How…” She whispered, looking up at him. 

“I went back on the saved video for the livestream and screen recorded your performance,” he admitted. “One of Bobby’s friends at the high school makes these. It wasn’t too hard.” When the song finished, she wound it back up and listened to it again, and neither of them noticed that the others were slowly growing quieter. Luke shifted uncomfortably, “Do you like it?” 

She launched herself at him. There wasn’t much force behind it, considering they were sitting next to each other, but her small frame barrelled him over in the hug that knocked the air from Luke’s lungs. He caught her, obviously. He always caught her. Luke’s arms tightened around Julie as she buried her face in his shirt. They were both pretty physical people when it came to showing affection. It was no secret that Luke’s love language was touch (well, second only to music and the mic sharing that accompanied it) anyway, and it seemed to be that the more Julie picked up on that, the more she reciprocated it. 

“I love it,” she whispered. “Thank you.” Luke grinned at her as he sat back up, and Julie held out her hand behind her while Lita fumbled around for the package addressed to him, reading Julie’s mind. Julie pushed it towards him, an excitable look on her face. “Your turn.” 

“My turn?” He asked, staring at the small parcel.

She nudged him. “Your turn.” 

Luke brought the parcel onto his lap carefully before starting to unwrap it. The first layer of paper disappeared to reveal… another layer of paper… and then a layer of tissue. He laughed, “Wow, Jules. Pass the parcel, much?” 

“Get on with it, I want to see your reaction,” she prompted. 

“Someone’s impatient today,” he teased. “Maybe I’ll take a little longer—” 

“Luke!” 

“I’m unwrapping, I’m unwrapping,” he conceded with a smirk. “What’s…” He trailed off, staring at the present. It was a guitar strap. But it was a _Julie Molina_ guitar strap. She’d designed it by hand in a way that only she could, with little musical note stitches and his name and the Sunset Curve logo. There was a little takeout coffee cup and a microphone and a cupcake from their mass-baking session and a pair of ice skates and a ferris wheel which had to be an addition after the Christmas market and it was just so _Julie._ “Wow.” He ran a finger along it, “Wow…” 

She had proven herself once again to be the only person alive with the ability to render him speechless. 

“I want what they have,” Lita sighed. 

“I want them to _notice_ what they have, because this is just ridiculous,” Carlos muttered back to her. 

“Valid,” she nodded at him. 

“You’ve done it, Jules,” Luke laughed softly. “You’ve won Christmas. I don’t think it gets better than this.” 

Julie blushed, ducking her head. “Guess I’ll just have to try extra hard to top it next year then.” 

He pulled her into a side hug with one arm as he leant back against the sofa, his other hand turning the guitar strap over and over in his hands. God, how long did it take to make? 

“LASER TAG?” Lita shouted, causing everyone to jump. “YOU GOT ME LASER TAG?” 

☕☕☕

Luke wasn’t entirely surprised to find out that the entire Molina family were all incredibly competitive, but instead of being eased into it, as soon as Christmas dinner was over everyone donned the little battery-powered laser tag packs and put their figurative warpaint on. When he woke up that morning, he wasn’t really expecting to be shot in the back by one of his music idols, but there was nothing to stop Rose from appearing from underneath a pile of cushions and catching him by surprise. 

Carlos even hit the lights at one point for a sneak attack involving his new night-vision goggles, which Lita was apparently regretting buying him due to the major advantage it had given. 

On one of the rounds where it wasn’t everyone for themselves, and there were teams involved, Luke found himself on the blue team with Carlos and Rose against Julie, Ray, Lita and Victoria. He backed into a bedroom for a breather after darting up the flight of stairs to avoid getting shot by Julie. Shutting the door behind him, he leant against the wall to catch his breath. The Molina’s were _intense,_ but he was having a really good time. 

“Surprise!” Lita rolled through the window _on the goddamn second floor of the house_ and shot him, taking his last life and darting out through the door he’d come in from before Luke had a chance to process. 

“What the—” He walked over to the window. “No. Yeah. Definitely the second floor. Right. Okay.” 

Julie burst through the door and didn’t see him at first, collapsing onto the bed with a sigh. She glanced at her watch. “Two minutes. I’m taking two minutes.” 

“Same,” he nodded. 

“Shit!” Julie rolled backwards off the bed and appeared again with her gun trained on Luke. “Oh. You’re already dead.” 

Luke laughed. “Yeah, your cousin kind of—” He gestured in the direction of the window and she shrugged. 

“Yeah, she does that sometimes. When she lived here she’d sneak out to the studio in the middle of the night so the whole ‘scaling the outside wall’ thing got perfected over time. It’s not that hard, really,” Julie explained as she sat back down on the bed. 

“While we’re here…” he trailed off, rubbing the back off his neck. “Part two of your present? Is it cool if I give it to you now?” 

Julie checked her watch. “I am allowing myself… One more minute until I jump back into the game, so yeah.” She patted the bed next to her. 

“One second,” Luke grinned, disappearing out the door to grab it from the guest bedroom where he’d been staying. He emerged half a minute later. “Close your eyes?” 

She did as told, but it didn’t escape Luke’s notice that she raised one eyebrow at the same time, and he had to suppress a chuckle. He pulled the necklace out of the paper— he’d tried wrapping it properly but it was too fiddly, only ending up putting the other charm on the chain with it instead— and tried to undo the clasp. At the sound of the paper rustling, Julie cracked an eye open ever so slightly. Luke hid the necklace out of her line of sight and scowled at her, lifting her hand and placing it over her own eyes. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best idea because now he had to awkwardly slip the necklace on without moving her arm, but it was fine in the end. Finally, he lifted up her hair and let it fall over the top of the chain. “Tada…” he whispered softly, “You can look now.” 

Julie’s hand flew to her neck and she looked at the two charms. The necklace she’d seen at the market with the added treble clef. “You went back and got it? It’s so beautiful…” 

“Kind of a last-minute present ‘cause I already had the music box sorted out, but I saw the way you were looking at it.” Luke shrugged, hand scratching the back of his neck nervously. “It’s not too much?” It was half a Christmas present, half a thank you for being invited to her Christmas in the first place. 

“It’s perfect,” she replied, “I love it. Thank you.” 

Before either of them could say anything else, Carlos burst into the room with his gun raised. “Red team won _this_ time. We’re regrouping. Gotta figure out a battle plan.” He eyed Luke and Julie carefully. “Patterson, no fraternising with the enemy. We need you back at base.” 

“Duty calls,” Luke winked at her. “Don’t think I’ll take it easy on you this round.” 

“Bold of you to assume I won’t get _you_ before you’ll get the chance,” she shot back, laughing as he ducked under Carlos’ arm to leave the room. 

Julie’s brother stayed there for a moment, smirking. She rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t you have a battle plan to perfect?” 

“Thought you had an open-door policy when it came to having _boys_ in your room,” he teased. 

She threw a decorative pillow at him, but he ducked it and it hit the door instead as he darted down the stairs laughing. Julie groaned and grabbed her laser gun, adjusting the straps on the light-up pack on her chest as she reset her lives for the next round. As she passed the mirror on the dresser, she smiled at the necklace on her reflection. 

☕☕☕

After another few exhausting rounds of laser tag, the seven of them took up residence on the couches in the living room with hot chocolate. Luke was half-dozing off against Julie’s shoulder on the couch and she couldn’t blame him. Him, her mom, and Carlos had managed to make a comeback and snag a victory in the final few rounds. There was something so endearing about seeing Luke army-crawl between the furniture to sneak attack her dad when the opportunity arose, or to be catching a breather at the top of the stairs only for her to turn around and find Carlos’ gun peeking through the gap in the bannister because he was sitting on Luke’s shoulders. 

Tia was completely wiped out and had already clocked off to go to bed after making everyone hot chocolate. Rose and Ray were curled up on the loveseat in the corner as Carlos and Lita played a card game on the other couch. Luke was just about still conscious, enough for him to decide to go upstairs into an actual bed if he wanted to, but he was leaning against Julie and she was leaning against him and it might not look it but it was _really_ comfy so he made no effort to move. 

Rose nudged her husband, and subtly directed his attention at where Julie was relaxing next to Luke, absent-mindedly twisting one of the rings around his ringer. She was on her way to falling asleep, something about having Luke Patterson aka a ‘walking heater’ leaning against her side was easy to lull her into a half-dreamlike state, numb to the outside world. 

Ray whispered to Rose, _“¿Pensamientos?”_

_“El es bueno.”_

_“¿Suficiente?”_

_“Sí, eso creo. El la hace feliz.”_

Luke, who knew enough Spanish at this point to understand this interaction, felt his cheeks warming. He waited a few seconds in the silence, listening to make sure Julie’s breathing was even and that she was asleep before replying quietly, almost too quietly for them to hear. “Other way around.” 

(He knew enough Spanish to understand, but he’d rather not lower their opinion of him by answering in his god-awful accent.)

Rose quirked an eyebrow in surprise, a smile teasing her lips. “You know Spanish?” 

“Enough to have a deep hatred of the Duolingo owl,” he muttered, eyes still closed. 

Ray chuckled, lowering his voice and whispering in his wife’s ear. “He’s a keeper.” 

Although it didn’t really matter that he’d spoken quieter, because in the short time between Luke’s response and Ray’s words, Luke had managed to fall asleep anyway. 

Later that evening, when Julie had woken up and adjusted her position so that Luke (who was in a considerably deeper sleep) would be comfier, Ray asked her if she would be going up to her room anytime soon. She shook her head, smiling down at Luke before whispering to her father, “I think I’m good here, Papi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the conversation between ray and rose is basically 
> 
> "thoughts?"  
> "he's good."  
> "enough?"  
> "yeah, i think so. he makes her happy."


	17. Stop Procaffeinating and Just Confess Already!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> imagine procrastinating your own feelings that hard lol. couldn't be me... (it's totally me). 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter takes place over the span of two weeks, but it's got a time skip or two in it. Its kind of short, but its basically just a bridge between the last bit, and the next bit...

Julie was being temporary DJ as Luke finished clearing up Mrs Harrison’s. The day had been a whirlwind, they both had to admit. Barely four hours earlier, Sunset Curve had gotten signed to _Destiny Management._ They had a lot to celebrate, but that was coming later. Specifically in an hour’s time. Luke had drawn the short straw in getting the late shift that involved cleaning duty before the party (which was being hosted at Eats and Beats) and being Luke, he refused to let Julie help. 

So she put on a playlist and watched Luke sing along to _Married in Vegas_ into his mop, rolling her eyes at his dorkiness. It was a miracle he got any work done, really. 

“How are you not dancing right now, Jules?” He complained. “We got a record deal today!” Luke pointed the dirty end of the mop at her accusingly from across the room and she raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Maybe I’m just saving the dancing for later?” She suggested, “Besides, I’m planning for the trip. It’s only in two weeks.”

Luke pouted, “You should be saving _that_ for later. We’re celebrating!” He broke into a run and skidded across the wet floor before landing against the table Julie was sitting on in a swift moment as he hauled himself up to sit next to her. “We got a record deal,” he whispered to her. 

“We got a record deal,” a small smile spread across her face. 

“WE GOT A RECORD DEAL!” He yelled, not caring who might hear them through the open windows. 

Julie grinned, finally caving at his enthusiasm. “We’re going to go on tour for sold-out stadiums.” 

“...And share our music with the whole damn world,” Luke threw an arm over her shoulders, drawing the curve of the band’s logo in the air with his finger like he was demonstrating their name in lights. He hopped off the table and continued mopping the floor, humming along to the song in the background and occasionally singing some of the lyrics. 

_We watched the bands until the stars burn out the morning sky_

Julie joined in, tapping the table along to the drumbeat. _“So I’ve been walking, I’m gonna find you… through every back street, I will run through…”_

_I count the days til I carry you home_

He finished with the area that he was mopping, before beckoning Julie over with a grin. She skidded on the wet tiles, slamming into him with a giggle as he twirled her around. Julie’s feet slipped out from under her on the still-damp tiles and she yelped, clinging onto the nearest thing— which just happened to be Luke— for support. Luke caught her, laughing as the position ended up kind of looking like one of those dips in dancing, their faces impossibly close. 

Julie had been sure of her place with Luke. They were friends, nothing more. And then Christmas happened and she wasn’t so sure. At some point, her feelings had gotten a little mixed up, and she seemed to be thinking with her heart instead of her head. But was her heart right? They’d just gotten a record deal. Sunset Curve was blowing up. What if they didn’t work out? Did she really want to risk that? 

The band was her family. 

But her and Luke? 

Unchartered territory. 

She wasn’t sure how to diffuse the tension that had crept up on them from nowhere when he stopped her from falling. So she repeated his words from before, almost as a whisper. “We got a record deal.” 

“WE GOT A RECORD DEAL!” He set Julie back on her feet only to sweep her off them in a hug that swung her around. “We got a record deal! We’re gonna be legends!” 

For Luke, the experience was so surreal. They’d played a few small clubs, the occasional open mic night and live music night, but this was _it._ They’d been discovered and they were really going to become legends. And he couldn’t imagine doing any of it without Julie. 

“You getting changed before the party? Or are you going like… that?” Julie suppressed a laugh as soon as he put her down. 

Luke looked down at his clothes. Someone had spilt coffee on him in the street after the meeting so he’d changed into a _Mrs Harrison’s coffee_ tee, which didn’t exactly fit the vibe of the ‘we’re the newest artists at a world-class record label’ party Flynn had been planning since 11am that they were about to go to. He rolled his eyes. “First of all, I look great like this. Second of all, I brought a change of clothes before the shift.” 

She patted him on the bicep. “Good. I’m changing first though, so dibs on the break room!” 

Before he had time to protest, she’d already disappeared. He rolled his eyes and went over to his bag. There’d been no time to put it in the breakroom before he arrived so it had just been slung on top of one of the empty tables. Luke wasn’t going to change his jeans so he pulled the coffee shop’s shirt over his head and scrambled around in his bag for the black cutoff he’d been planning on wearing. The bag in question usually tended to house any clothes he felt like taking out, so it took a little bit of searching before he finally found it. The sound of the door closing behind him caused him to turn around just as he put his head through the neck hole. 

_Abs._ That was Julie’s first thought, anyway. Judging by the look on Luke’s face, it was also the first thought her traitorous brain decided to vocalise. The tips of his ears went pink as he turned away, desperate to hide his reaction as he put the coffee shirt into his bag. He turned back around, pretending he hadn’t heard her. “Sorry, Jules. Did you say so—” 

And then he froze, because, well, _shit._

She was doing that thing she does again, where she just…

Okay, so maybe that ‘thing’ is just existing, but Julie was currently existing less than ten feet away in a purple jumpsuit with half-sleeve things that shimmered when it caught the light and could you _blame_ him? It didn’t help that she’d reapplied her eyeliner and for some reason it reminded him of the conversation they’d had on the night they met when he asked for the brand to give to Reggie and Luke’s brain just _stopped_ for a few seconds. 

Julie cleared her throat. “I see you’ve… uh… changed. Does that mean you’re ready to go? Flynn’ll be here soon.” 

“Yeah,” he blinked, unmoving. He blinked twice again for good measure because really, how was he supposed to concentrate on processing anything when she was standing there like that? “Sure.”

☕☕☕

Flynn waited as long as possible in her attempt to ignore the persistent knocking at her door. She was still nursing a hangover from last night’s Sunset Curve ‘we got signed to Destiny Management’ party and the loud banging against the door was _not_ helping. “Fine. I’m coming, jeez!” 

She wasn’t entirely expecting to see Luke Patterson leaning against her door frame when she opened the door, but it’s not exactly like her day was going anywhere anyway. “Luke?” She raised an eyebrow at him, one hand still on the door handle and the other holding a cup of scaldingly hot coffee. 

“I’m in love with Julie,” he blurted out. 

She rolled her eyes. “How long have you known?”

“Like since the day after open mic night but I think it just properly hit me this morning.”

Flynn sighed. “Took you long enough, I’ve known for over a year. Get in here. And try not to pace so much— she’ll hear you from her apartment. Thin walls, bad structural integrity of the building and all that.” She gestured vaguely at the room before ushering Luke in and shutting the door behind him. 

“I think her parents ship us too, which is fucking _terrifying.”_

She shrugged. “It should be comforting if you’ve already got their seal of approval. So, are you gonna tell her?”

“Tell her what?” Luke looked at her blankly. She couldn’t possibly mean actually _tell_ _Julie,_ right? That would be ridiculous. That would be one of the worst possible decisions he could ever make. “You’re joking, right?” 

“No.” Flynn shut him down. “You gotta tell her.” She ignored the way he shook his head vehemently. “Fine. Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t.” 

“The band?” He supplied weakly. “We’re just starting out and we’ve been signed, and as your manager you should want what’s best for the band? Everything could backfire if we start dating.” 

“As your friend, I think you should go for it. Bands aside, it won’t backfire. You’re both completely gone for each other. Well, Jules is a little better at hiding it than you are, considering you might legally be able to sue any and all technology companies from copyrighting your heart eyes for their emojis at this point.”

“That obvious?” Luke groaned, falling face-first onto her couch. 

“Boy, do I need to tell you _again_ that I’ve known for over a year? Get it together!” She punctuated each word in the final sentence with a clap. “She obviously feels the same way.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Even if you were right— which you’re not— how would I even tell her?” 

“‘Hi, by the way I’m madly in love with you and have been for some time now?’” Flynn suggested. 

Luke’s eyes widened in horror. “What? No.” 

She tried again. “You could just ask her out like a regular human would. Like ‘hey, Julie. Want to go on a date?’” 

“Too forward.” 

_“Really?_ Okay. How about ‘Can we hang out sometime?’” 

“Too subtle.” 

Flynn groaned. “I don’t see _you_ making any good contributions to the conversation? Why don’t you just write her a song or something?” 

Luke snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Now. Now I think you’re onto something.” 

☕☕☕

Julie folded the final sweater for her trip and zipped up her suitcase. The week-long trip to New York organised by the university had been something that she had been looking forward to almost as soon as it was announced. They were going to be visiting several broadway shows and taking a tour of the city and on top of all that, she was going to visit Lita. It was also cheaper staying with her than paying the extra money for the hotel, money which could be spent on some of the other parts of the trip. 

She pulled on her jacket and opened the door, jumping back a little when she found Luke in front of it, hand raised to knock. “Oh, hey. Feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.” _Two weeks,_ her mind supplied. _You live next door to the guy and you’ve barely seen him in two weeks._ “Thought you were avoiding me or something.” 

Luke’s eyes widened in horror. “What? No! Just busy with… band stuff.” 

“Band stuff?” She frowned. “Without me?” 

“Not like that,” he promised. “Just wanted to show you—” Then he noticed the suitcase. “Oh. New York. That today?” 

“Yeah, that’s _today,”_ she replied, a little bitter. It was only the trip she’d been talking about for over a month. Taking a deep breath, Julie softened. It wasn’t exactly like she’d been the most accessible person in the last week at least with all her trip planning. “I’m gonna miss you.” 

His nervousness instantly disappeared, replaced with sudden warmth. “It’s only a week.” Luke pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her, simultaneously tucking the piece of paper that he’d been half-hiding behind his back into his jeans pocket. “But yeah, I guess I’ll miss you too.” 

She laughed, burying her head in his henley. “If anything happens, it’s only a three-hour time difference.” 

“I’m what I like to call ‘timezone flexible’,” he replied. 

“So you don’t sleep because you’re too busy songwriting?” 

_“Exactly,”_ he grinned, planting a ghost of a kiss on the top of her head. _Now wasn’t the right time. He had to wait until she got back._ Luke let her go and passed her the suitcase, which was leaning dangerously at an angle against the wall. 

Flynn chose that moment to come down the stairs and call for Julie. “Jules! If we want to get there before your flight then we need to leave pronto. Oh, hey Luke?” Her right eyebrow curved up in a question. _Did you do it?_ He shook his head subtly. _After._ She rolled her eyes and gestured to the stairs. “Your chariot awaits. And by chariot I mean my beat-up ford focus so let's get our asses on the road,” she shooed Julie towards the stairs, shooting a stern look at Luke that read: _we will be talking about this later._

As he went back inside his apartment and tossed the lyrics for Perfect Harmony onto his couch, ignoring the way the paper happened to slip down the crack and disappear from view, Luke couldn’t help but think he’d made a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry not sorry, this is a slow burn after all...


	18. Brew York, Brew York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie goes on her music trip (julie-centric chapter)

The moment she stepped out of the airport, Julie could tell she was in New York City. She’d only visited once or twice, when Lita first moved there for college, but the city itself was incredible. LA was the place for her, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t standing in one of her favourite cities. Someone whistled and she turned her head at the sound to find Lita with her arms folded, leaning against the side of an open taxi door. 

“Oi, Jules! D’you miss me or what?” She yelled.

Julie signed out with her professor and shot over to meet her cousin, letting the suitcase prop itself up against the door as she pulled her in for a hug. “It’s been like… just over a month. I saw you at Christmas.” 

“A month? Wow, I’m surprised you’re not getting ‘amazing cousin withdrawal’,” she raised an eyebrow, nodding to the car. “Get in, we’re ditching your stuff at my place and then we’re going exploring.” 

“Exploring?” 

“This place is awesome,” Lita explained. “Your class is going to be all ‘ooh, let’s see this touristy thing!’ I did them all in my first week here, and let me tell you, they don’t all live up to the hype. That, and the queues are fucking terrible. Luckily, you have the perfect tour guide.” 

Julie raised an eyebrow humorously, “Really? When are they getting here.” 

“Funny,” Lita rolled her eyes and swatted her arm. “But when you’re not doing the school music things, I’m going to be showing you the _real_ music hotspots of NYC.” 

“Like what?” 

“You’ll see,” she replied smugly. 

“That code for ‘you don’t know yet’?” 

“You’ll see.” 

☕☕☕

“First stop - Times Square,” Lita announced, jumping out of the taxi before it had completely stopped, simultaneously sliding the bills through for the fare through the window as she did so. “This place has a range of buskers, so it’s cool as hell, but it also has a little surprise that not many people know about, which is where I’m taking _you_ for dinner— you can thank me later.” 

Julie laughed, thanking the driver as she shut the car door behind her and followed Lita through the crowd, barely able to keep up but at least the telltale shade of red on the underside of her cousin’s hair made her easy to keep track of, which was more vibrant than usual thanks to her deciding to put it in a ponytail on their way out of her apartment. “And you come here a lot?” 

“New York City, but particularly this place, has helped a lot with my anxiety. Here, you could embarrass the _shit_ out of yourself, and it’s still probably not the weirdest thing someone’s seen that day— hell, let alone that _hour.”_ She dodged someone dressed as the Statue of Liberty handing out flyers for a taco stand and bounced behind someone as they took a selfie, throwing up finger guns to photo bomb. “Like take this for instance,” she stopped next to one of the buskers, who was counting his money. “I know this guy. Tommy, say hi to my cousin Julie.” 

“Oh, so _this_ is Julie,” he raised an eyebrow. 

Lita narrowed her eyes at him. “If I’m not allowed to flirt with your sister then you’re not allowed to flirt with my cousin so don’t even go there.” 

“Cousins don’t count!” Tommy spluttered, unconvinced.

Julie watched their exchange cautiously, deciding _not_ to cut in just yet. 

“Well it’s not like I have any siblings!” Lita shot back. “Anyway, you’re not her type.” 

“You said—” 

“Just because you’re a guitarist doesn’t automatically mean you’re her type!” 

“What’s going on?” Julie finally asked, too confused— and too curious— to let it slide any longer. 

Tommy rolled his eyes at Lita. “She wants to screw my sister.” 

“You shouldn’t have introduced me then!” Lita pulled a face at him. “Jerry looks like a fucking _goddess_ and she plays the fucking _saxophone_ and honestly I don’t know what you were expecting.” 

Julie ignored that and replayed the last sentence in her head. “You and your sister’s names… are—” 

“Tom and Jerry, yeah,” Lita supplied with a shit-eating grin on her face. “Hence why he usually goes by Tommy, and she goes by Ria most of the time.” 

“If I could go back in time and stop my parents from ever meeting, I _would,”_ Tommy sent a pained expression in Julie’s direction and she had to fake a cough to smother her laughter. “All of that aside, what will it be today?” 

Lita paused for a second, mulling it over. “FIDLAR—” 

“If you’re choosing a FIDLAR song, then it’ll be _By Myself._ No disrespect to any other FIDLAR song, but I know your taste,” Tommy cut in, strumming lightly on his guitar to check it was still in tune before nodding at her. 

“A duet, if you’re interested?” Lita teased, holding out a hand to Julie to help her up onto the bench— not that she needed the help. 

“You weren’t kidding about feeling comfortable here,” Julie laughed as she joined her slightly higher up, looking around over the heads of the rest of the people as far as she could see. 

Instead of giving her an answer, Lita rolled up the sleeves of her plaid shirt and grinned, resting her arm on Julie’s shoulder, _“Well I’m crackin’ one open with the boys by myself…”_ Tommy joined in with the guitar, and a few people passing by looked up, but they seemed to be used to this, so no one really took any notice.

 _“And everybody thinks that I need professional help,”_ Julie continued, a smile on her face. 

Lita took the next few lines, _“But I don’t wanna think about that anymore, and just because I woke up on someone’s floor and asked, ‘who the fuck am I?’ I didn’t know it felt good to cry.”_

 _“Yeah, I started from the bottom, and I’m still at the bottom,”_ Julie took over, letting herself get lost in the music. _“And I spent a night in jail, turns out it wasn’t the bottom, and I lost so many friends who know that I was the problem, and my life is like a pill that’s gettin’ harder to swallow.”_ She did the first _“Pick it up”,_ signalling to Lita to take the pre-chorus. 

_Every girl I never had_

_(Pick it up)_

_Blame it on my mom and dad_

_(Pick it up)_

_And I don’t need no one_

_Wish I had someone, anyone_

And they were dancing on a bench in Times Square, with two teenage tourists filming them on their phones to save the memory, as Julie and Lita belted out the chorus of _By Myself,_ by FIDLAR, in one of the most put-together, unplanned performances of their lives so far. 

_Well, I’m crackin’ one open with the boys by myself_

_And everybody says that I need professional help_

_But I don’t wanna think about that anymore_

_And just because I woke up on someone’s floor_

_And asked, “Where the hell am I?”_

_I didn’t know it felt good to cry_

Tommy stood up and jumped onto the bench a few feet away, taking the next verse. 

_Well, I fell asleep in summer and woke up in October_

_So I called up everybody, but nobody came over_

_And why does gettin’ sober make you feel like a loner?_

_And why does gettin’ sober make you feel like a loner?_

This time Lita took the _“Pick it up”_ , and Julie took the pre-chorus. 

_Every girl I never had_

_(Pick it up)_

_Blame it on my mom and dad_

_(Pick it up)_

_And I don’t need no one_

_Wish I had someone, anyone_

_Well, I’m crackin’ one open with the boys by myself_

_And everybody says that I need professional help_

_But I don’t wanna think about that anymore_

_And just because I woke up on someone’s floor_

_And asked, “Where the hell am I?”_

_I didn’t know it felt good to cry_

_Well, I’m crackin’ one open with the boys by myself_

_And everybody says that I need professional help_

_But I don’t wanna think about that anymore_

_And just because I woke up on someone’s floor_

_And asked, “Where the hell am I?”_

_I didn’t know it felt good to cry_

Lita threw an arm around her cousin's shoulders, putting on the accent for the spoken part at the end of the song, _“Um, can I get one California burrito—”_

 _“No cheese,”_ Julie cut in, knowing the song like the back of her hand. 

_“And like, two carne asada tacos?”_ Tommy finished with a grin. 

Julie caught one of the tourists who had been filming before they could leave. “Hey, could you AirDrop that video to me?” 

She sent it to Luke first before putting it on her Instagram. 

“Julie?” A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts as she waited for the little arrow to indicate that the message had sent and she looked up, pocketing her phone. 

It was one of the guys from her class. “Oh, hey. Chris, right?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Don’t think we’ve really talked before, but that was really cool.” 

“Oh, thanks,” she smiled. 

He turned to leave but spun back around, thinking better of himself. “Do you want to get drinks one night? It’s weird that we’ve been in the same class for like two years and know nothing about each other.” 

“I have plans with Lita— that’s my cousin, over there— almost every night of the trip, but we’re getting dinner somewhere with her friend in about ten minutes, if you want to join us?”

☕☕☕

“How the hell did you find this place?” Julie gasped in wonder as they sat down. It was an underground music bar on one of the side roads just off Times Square, that involved going down a sketchy alley, then down a flight of stairs, and then answering a music-related question before they went through the door. The lights were dim but they reflected off the hundreds of records plastering the walls, and not only did it have a jukebox which was in action from the mornings until seven-thirty, it had karaoke with an _entire band,_ that ran after that until midnight, and each of the drinks on the menu was somehow a music pun. 

Julie’s first thought was that Luke would love this place. 

Her second thought was that if the band ever went on a tour and ended up in New York, they were coming here without hesitation. 

“The same way you found Mrs Harrison’s,” Lita smirked, shrugging. _“Fate.”_

“You believe in fate?” Chris laughed. 

“I believe in the musical sixth sense that allowed me to hear them playing _Retrospect_ by Vistas from two streets over at rush hour in the middle of New York City, which led me here,” she replied smugly. “I have a good ear.” 

Tommy snorted, “I still don’t believe that was what happened, and I was _there.”_

“What do you think happened, then?” Julie raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I have no idea. One minute we were there, and the next she’s humming _“Close my eyes let me reset, happiness in retrospect”_ and dragging me all the way down here without warning,” he explained with a huff. “I was brought here against my will and although I don’t regret it, I’d rather you didn’t make a habit of it.” 

Lita rolled her eyes, “You love it here almost as much as I do.” She turned to Julie, “By the way, we’re eating here every night because it’s cheap and amazing entertainment. I lied when I said I knew a load of good food places, I practically live at this joint.” 

“That’s completely fine with me,” Julie laughed. “I think I’m in love with this place.” 

Someone hit the jukebox and a familiar song started playing. “I know this one!” Lita cheered. “It’s The Vamps! _Married in Vegas!”_

Tommy rolled his eyes, “You know _every_ song, even when they swap the songs out you _still_ recognise them.” 

“Guilty,” she smirked. “I’d dance but that would embarrass myself and the rest of you. But _you_ should dance,” Lita nodded at her cousin. “I’ll mind the drinks, enjoy yourself.” 

“Mind if I join you?” Chris asked hopefully and Julie shrugged.

“Don’t see why not,” she replied, making her way towards the empty space cleared for people to either dance along to the karaoke or just in general. He followed behind, and Lita whipped out her phone and opened messages.

Luke   
  
Get a fucking move on, mate - Lita   
  
the fuck?? i didn't know you had my number??   
  
had it since christmas   
  
but that's not the point   
  
and the point is??   
  
is julie okay??   
  
did something happen??   
  
simp   
  
???   
  
there's a friend from her music class   
  
and he is laying on the flirting   
  
so get your shit together and ask her out before it's too late   
  
we're in different states   
  
i can't just ask her over the phone   
  
patterson   
  
from the bottom of my heart   
  
you're screwed, buddy   
  
hang on how did YOU know??   
  
bitch you ain't subtle   
  
...   
  
fuck   
  


☕☕☕

Julie was still on the high from seeing _Wicked_ live on Broadway with her classmates, and Kayla was still gushing about the costumes. Chris was more interested in the special effects and the orchestra, but the small group stilled when they saw a piano on the street on the way back to the hotel, where Lita was going to be picking Julie up. 

“Should we?” Ethan suggested. 

Robby looked around, “I mean, there’s no sign telling us _not_ to.” 

“And we’re music students,” Kayla prompted.

“So there’s really nothing stopping us,” Chris sat down at the piano and flexed his fingers. 

Kayla passed her phone over to Robby. “Go live on insta?”

Chris’ fingers danced across the piano as he started playing the intro to _Defying Gravity,_ and Kayla kicked off her heels to dance along the pavement as Julie looked around at her friends. _“Something has changed within me,”_ she started, oblivious to Robby recording. _“Something is not the same. I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game…”_

 _“Too late for second-guessing, too late to go back to sleep, it’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes… and leap…”_ Ethan looked at Julie to continue. 

_It’s time to try defying gravity_

_I think I’ll try defying gravity_

_And you can’t pull me down_

_“Can’t I make you understand?”_ Kayla went over to Julie, putting a hand on her shoulder and reenacting the full scene. _“You’re having delusions of grandeur!”_

 _“I’m through accepting limits, ‘cause someone says they’re so,”_ Julie dramatically broke away from Kayla and spun around. _“Some things I cannot change, but ‘til I try I’ll never know…”_

_Too long I’ve been afraid of_

_Losing love I guess I’ve lost_

_Well, if that’s love_

_It comes at much too high a cost_

_I’d sooner try defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye I’m defying gravity_

_And you can’t pull me down_

Meanwhile, across the country, Luke, Reggie, Alex, Carrie, Flynn, and Bobby were crowding around Reggie’s phone, taking a much-longer-than-necessary break from the coffee shop to watch the notification that Reggie had gotten when he realised Kayla— a friend he’d gained through Julie— had gone live on Instagram. He'd clicked on it, remembering that she was with Julie in New York to see what was happening, and the moment Luke had heard Julie singing he'd practically vaulted over the counter to see what Reg was watching, and the others had followed soon after.

Julie caught Kayla’s hand and sang, _“Unlimited, together we’re unlimited, together we’ll be the greatest team there’s ever been… Glinda, dreams, the way we planned them…”_

 _“If we work in tandem…”_ Kayla moved closer. _“There’s no fight we cannot win…”_

_Just you and I defying gravity_

_With you and I defying gravity_

_They’ll never bring us down_

Kayla turned away briefly, _“I hope you’re happy, now that you’re choosing this…”_

 _“You too, I hope it brings you bliss,”_ Julie replied, until the rest of their group joined in. 

_I really hope you get it_

_And you don't live to regret it_

_I hope you're happy in the end_

_I hope you're happy my friend_

Ethan lifted up Julie and spun her around as Chris' piano playing intensified, holding her as she spread her arms out and sang solo towards the sky. 

_So if you care to find me_

_Look to the western sky!_

_As someone told me lately_

_“Everyone deserves the chance to fly!”_

_And if I’m flying solo_

_At least I’m flying free_

_To those who ground me_

_Take a message back from me_

_Tell them how I am defying gravity!_

_I’m flying high, defying gravity!_

_And soon, I’ll match them in renown_

_And nobody in all of Oz_

_No wizard that there is or was_

_Is ever gonna bring me down!_

_“I hope you’re happy,”_ Kayla echoed as the others sang. 

_“Look at her, she’s wicked…”_

_Bring me down!_

_Oh_

Ethan set Julie down and she threw an arm around Kayla, laughing, who shouted at Robby. “Save the live!” 

Off-camera, those watching at Mrs Harrison’s could just about hear, “Save the live? Why? What’s wrong with it?” 

☕☕☕

Julie flopped backwards onto Lita’s sofabed with a grin, “That was so cool. I’ve always wanted to see that show.” 

“I’m guessing it lived up to the hype then?” Lita laughed, handing her a mug of hot cocoa. 

“I want to go back,” she complained. “I want to watch it again.” 

Lita laughed, “Maybe next time you can bring Ky with you, you know he’s got Broadway dreams. We can make it into a theatre tour.”

“You think so?” 

“I think I’d be down for that, hundred percent,” she replied with a grin. 

Before Lita could ask any more questions about the show, Julie’s phone started to buzz and answered it as soon as she saw the caller ID. “Hey Luke, feels like it’s been a while,” she laughed as his face filled her screen. 

“From the looks of things you’re enjoying NYC?” He joked. 

She frowned, “What do you mean?” 

“Have you not seen Kayla’s Instagram? She filmed you guys doing _Defying Gravity_ earlier,” Luke explained. “You killed it.”

“Aww, thanks,” Julie blushed. “But we were just messing around in the street after watching the show. Speaking of the show, it was _incredible,_ you have to see it. And at some point we gotta come back here so I can show you the place Lita found, it’s an underground music bar. An underground music bar!” 

Luke’s eyes widened, “Seriously? I’m jealous, I’ve always wanted to go to one of those.” 

“We’ll have to stop by when Sunset Curve goes on tour,” she teased. “Any more news from Andi about opportunities?” 

“Nothing just yet,” he sighed, “But soon. I got a good feeling about this.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone, and Julie was still running on the high of watching the show and performing in the street to notice the hint of jealousy in his voice. “When you get back, you should bring your friends from music class down to Eats and Beats or something so I can get to know them. They seem… fun.” 

“That sounds great!” Julie replied enthusiastically. “Did you see the video I sent you from Times Square?” 

“I can’t believe you sang FIDLAR without me,” he pouted. “Cool performance though. I’ve always wanted to go to Times Square.”

“We’re going. We’re definitely going together at some point,” she decided firmly, and his face lit up. “Anyway, how’s everyone back home?” 

Luke shrugged, “Falling apart without you, obviously.” 

_“Obviously,”_ Julie laughed. “Seriously, what’s going on?” 

“Well I’ve been hanging out with Flynn loads because we both ended up outside your apartment the other day before remembering that you’re not here,” he shrugged, leaving out the part that he’d slowly been spending more time with Flynn anyway before she left because they were both hopelessly in love with people and terrible at feelings. “She stocks good ice cream and we watch rom-coms.” 

“Fun,” she laughed. “It’s only… three more days ‘til I get back. Think you can cope?” 

_Tell her, tell her, tell her,_ his heart insisted. 

_Not now, not now, not now,_ his brain argued. 

“I think we’ll be alright,” Luke shrugged. “How late is it there? You should get some sleep.” 

“Hypocrite!” She laughed, “I know you’ll be up for like four more hours.” 

“Well I’m three hours behind, so that tracks. I’m gonna go anyway, so you can get some rest. Long day tomorrow!” He grinned. “Send a selfie from the top of the Statue of Liberty?” 

“Or Empire State Building, whichever looks better,” Julie replied with a smile. “Still don’t get why they booked _both_ climbing things on the same day, I am going to be wiped _out_ tomorrow night. Don’t even know if I’ll make it through dinner after.” 

“I will see _you_ in three days. Text if you need anything, y’know… like your plants watering?”

She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. “My hero. I’ll see you when I get back, and we can either have a writing session or a movie at your place at some point. Deal?” 

“Absolutely, looking forward to it. Later, Boss,” he waved. “Night!” 

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”


	19. Prioriteas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flarrie & Juke pining, you know how it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the chapter title is a tea pun.  
> Yes I'm running out of coffee/tea related puns.  
> Yes this is a cry for help.  
> (Please put suggestions in the comments?)
> 
> Also this is not beta read nor is it properly proof read! Enjoy!

“I just think it sucks that I’m working on the day Julie’s coming back. I want to pick her up from the airport,” Luke groaned as he handed a customer their takeout cup. 

“Flynn’s got it handled, lovebird,” Carrie rolled her eyes. "Besides, you don't even have a car." 

He spun around, reaching around her to grab a brownie. “Speaking of Flynn, you two have been getting… close?” 

“Watch it, Patterson,” she glared at him. “Sounds like you _think_ you know something.” 

“Anyone would think that if _you_ were going to continue whatever it is you’ve got going on with her, you’d be better at hiding it by now, considering how long it’s been going on for,” he lowered his voice and slipped his hand into his pocket to pull out the sunglasses case. “Found _these_ in Flynn’s bathroom when I was round there the other day.” 

Carrie put on her best poker face, “I’ve never seen those in my life.” 

“You were wearing them last week.” 

“I think you’re mistaken, Lucas,” she deflected. 

“I think you’re lying,” he shot back smugly. “You know, Carrie, you _could_ just tell her you’re into her.” 

She glared at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure…” he replied. “Sure I don’t. I definitely haven’t noticed how often you two try and find any and all excuses to spend time together… or how she looks at you when you’re not looking—” this brought a blush onto Carrie’s cheeks— “Or how you look at _her_ when she’s not looking…” the blush deepened even further and Carrie looked away, busying herself with organising the coffee stirrers. “What would I know, right?” 

“Shut up,” Carrie muttered. “And don’t tell anyone.” 

Luke grinned. A lot of that had been pure deduction, but he wasn’t wrong about the glances he’d caught Carrie and Flynn sneaking each other when they thought no one was looking. He’d just happened to find enough evidence to hit the nail on the head. “Your secret is safe with me. Even though you’re being ridiculous and should just tell her other you like her. Just try not to accidentally leave your stuff in obvious places.”

“I’m being ridiculous? Mr ‘I’m in love with Julie Molina’?” 

He threw an empty takeout cup at her. “At least I _acknowledge_ my feelings.” 

“Took you damn long enough,” she laughed. “Now get back to work and stop thinking about Julie.” Carrie tossed the cup back at him. 

☕☕☕

Flynn tugged Julie in for a hug the moment she saw her before helping her put her bags in the car. “How was your trip? You better show me _all_ the pictures.” 

“I didn’t even take that many pictures,” Julie laughed. 

_“All_ the pictures,” she insisted, and Julie caved. 

“Fine. But only if you tell me everything that happened while I was gone,” she laughed. 

Flynn raised an eyebrow, “It was just a week.” 

“A lot can happen in a week.” Julie slid into the passenger seat. It took her 0.2 seconds to crack. “For example, I have a date tonight.” Her friend almost choked, swerving the car slightly and staring at Julie in horror like she’d kicked a puppy. Well, she basically had. Julie clung onto the car for dear life. “Jesus, Flynn! Are you trying to kill us?” 

“Sorry,” she muttered. “With who?” 

“Chris, from my music course.” 

“Never heard of him,” Flynn dismissed. 

Julie shrugged, “I didn’t really know him that well, but he was really fun on the trip and he asked me out like twenty minutes ago before I left the airport so I said yes.” 

“What about Luke?” The words were out of Flynn’s mouth before she could stop herself and she cursed inwardly. 

Julie shot her a confused look. “What _about_ Luke? Him and I are just friends.” 

“I just thought there was something there, that’s all,” she attempted to cover it up, glancing out the window and refusing to meet Julie’s eyes. “You can’t fake that kind of chemistry when you sing and you two have been getting… _close.”_

She shook her head. “That’s all it is, chemistry. He’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t want to risk that _or_ the band because there’s a small possibility we _could_ have something.”

“I just thought I picked up on a vibe,” Flynn shrugged, trying to hide how dejected she was. 

Whoever this ‘Chris’ guy was, he had _not_ passed her approval check. Luke had, that was a fact. She couldn’t stand the thought of Julie getting hurt again, not after what happened with Isaac. Even if Gemma _did_ enjoy Flynn’s little parting gift on her husband’s car after the wedding. Who was there for Julie when that happened? _Luke._ Where was Chris, huh? Where was he then? Okay, so maybe she was being a little overprotective. Just a little. 

_To be honest, I thought there was a vibe too,_ Julie thought to herself. It was easy to think back to Christmas as she fiddled with the charms on the necklace Luke bought her, the one that fit perfectly to hang underneath her _Julie_ necklace. Or think about dancing on the wet floors at Mrs Harrison’s, or spending the night in the car… 

Maybe there _had_ been a bit of a vibe. But if Julie was wrong, and she was just misinterpreting it all, then she would only get hurt _again,_ and potentially damage their friendship. The solution? When Chris asked if he could get to know her better, take her out on a date tonight, she said yes. 

He was nice, he was into music, and he liked her. 

It was the right decision, right? 

☕☕☕

Flynn had just got back into her apartment when her phone rang. _Carrie._ Strange, considering Carrie didn’t usually call. She’d show up unannounced, maybe send a few texts, but for her to call was a rarity. They’d had maybe, two (or three?) phone calls in the time they’d known each other. Yet it barely took Flynn two seconds to process that and pick up the phone, her mind instantly drifting from Julie and her date and onto Carrie. 

“Hey, Care. What’s up?” 

“Hey,” she sighed, audibly exhausted. “I know I said you could have my car for the day to pick up Julie from the airport, but I really need you to come and pick me up."

“What’s up? What’s going on, are you okay?” Flynn’s brows furrowed in concern. “Where are you?” She was already out the door, keys in her free hand.

Carrie took a deep breath. “I’m home. It’s just, it’s complicated. Can you—” 

“I’m already on my way,” She reassured her, “You want me to stay on the phone while I drive? I am… forty-five minutes away, including traffic. How’s it ‘complicated’?” 

“It’s…” She trailed off. “It’s about my parents.” 

Flynn noted instantly that Carrie didn’t say her _dad,_ she said her _parents._ From what she knew, Carrie’s parents had a strained relationship. Her mom left when she was in high school and every now and then there’d be a postcard from somewhere random, or a ‘happy birthday’ message that was almost always half a year too early _or_ too late. 

The sheer fact that Carrie said _parents…_

She pulled up just outside the gates but there was no reason to buzz in or use the key Carrie had given her for the footpath because Carrie was waiting outside, hands stuffed in the pockets of her pink leather jacket and headphones trailing from the pocket with her phone in. The moment she saw the car pull up she sighed in relief, but didn’t say anything. Flynn moved to get out and see if she was okay first, but Carrie didn’t give her the chance as she pulled the door to her car open and wordlessly slid into the seat. 

“You okay?” Flynn glanced at her worriedly from the driver’s seat. 

“My mom’s back,” Carrie replied quietly, as way of an answer. “She thinks it’ll work. I know it won’t.” 

“What do you want to do?” She hesitated, but ultimately reached for Carrie’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. 

Carrie stared at their joined hands for a moment, her fingers having relaxed into the action almost on reflex so she was holding onto Flynn as much as the other girl was holding onto her. It caught her off guard, but it wasn’t unwelcome. “I— uhh, can we just go back to your place? Watch a movie or something?”

“Sure, Care. Whatever you need,” Flynn replied as she drove away from the Wilsons’ mansion. 

☕☕☕

Despite wanting to see Julie straight away, Luke knew she’d refuse to hug him since he was soaked in sludge from the new smoothie-maker breaking just as he was about to leave his shift. The whole thing started to make a strange noise and by the time Alex had figured out what was about to happen, he’d ducked, so the mixture hit Luke full force and coated every available worktop - hence why he’d ended up leaving work an hour later than initially planned. Reggie walked in, stared at Alex, who had flecks of pink in his hair, and then at Luke, who was _covered_ head-to-toe and as unhelpful as ever, took a photo and put it on their work group chat. 

By the time he’d had a shower and washed the strawberry? Raspberry? _Pink_ thing out of his hair, Luke scrambled about in his apartment to try and find where he’d left _Perfect Harmony_. Without luck, and nervous as ever, Luke finally left his apartment and knocked on her door. 

Julie opened the door while multitasking, in the middle of braiding a small portion of her hair back from her face. He wasn’t entirely sure _how_ she’d managed to open the door, but that was the furthest thing from Luke’s mind as he took in what she was wearing. The navy dress hugged her figure, with sleeves hanging just off her shoulders and the whole thing ending just above her knees. Luke froze for a second, momentarily forgetting why he was there in the first place. 

“Hey Luke,” she smiled brightly, “Beginning to think you’d never stop by.” 

“Incident at work involving a full blender,” he managed to find his words. “Had to shower like three times.” 

She nodded, “That _would_ explain the strawberry smell that’s… lingering?” 

“Dammit,” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “Thought I’d got it all out.” 

Julie laughed, “What’s up? Everything okay?” 

“You’re— You’re all dressed up,” he asked cautiously. 

“Oh, I have a date with Chris from college.” She saw his face fall and frowned, “Unless something’s wrong? I can totally cancel if you need me to.” 

“No!” He replied quickly, before wincing at how panicked he sounded. “No, it’s fine. I just came around to borrow your… spatula. Yep.” _Really, Luke? Spatula?_

Julie studied him for a second before replying. “Sure? You know where it is?” 

He nodded, slipping past her through the door to the correct drawer. “So this ‘Chris’ guy. He’s nice?” 

“Yeah, we didn’t really talk before the trip though.” 

“I’m…” It pained him to say it a little, but it was true. “I’m happy that you’re happy.” He spun around, spatula in hand and tried to nod convincingly. “I hope it goes well. If you need anything, you know where to find me.” 

She watched him as he backed towards the door, pointing at her with the spatula. “Is the spatula all you wanted?” 

“Yep.” Luke called back, already in the hallway. “Enjoy your date!” He kicked his apartment door shut behind him and leant against it, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. With a sigh, Luke swatted himself in the forehead with Julie’s spatula. “You _idiot,”_ he muttered to himself. “You absolute fucking _idiot._ You had your shot, and you missed it.” 

☕☕☕

Initially, Carrie wasn’t sure why she called Flynn. She couldn’t call Julie, who she’d gotten surprisingly close with, because the girl didn’t have a car. She couldn’t call Alex, because he was on shift, and so was Reggie. Judging by the group chat, Luke was… indisposed ( covered in an unnamed pink substance) and he also didn’t own a car. Bobby was working, but he’d probably end up coming in and yelling at their parents and that would just make everything worse. But other than that, the fact that Carrie’s first instinct was to call Flynn confused her… at least until Flynn picked up the phone, and Carrie knew she’d made the right decision. 

And then Flynn showed up, and Carrie’s heart stopped for a moment. For a minute or so, the fact that Flynn visibly cared so much was enough to wipe the current situation straight from her memory because she didn’t realise the other girl cared about her that much, especially considering Flynn was pretty good at keeping composed. But the concern was written all over her face, and although for a brief moment Carrie thought it could just be pity, it was pretty obvious that it wasn’t. 

“What do you want to do?” Flynn asked cautiously once she’d gotten into the car, and before Carrie had even registered the touch, her hand was already closed around Flynn’s in reflex. She’d slipped her hand in Carrie’s and squeezed it reassuringly, and Carrie watched it, almost unable to believe it. It was purely physical, no feelings attached. That’s what they decided. That’s what they decided _months_ ago. 

So why did it feel different?

When did it change?

Of course, Carrie would rather die than admit that _Luke_ of all people was qualified to give romance advice. What with his constant pining after Julie. At least he was acknowledging it now, which was a lot better than before. But what if he _was_ right? 

When Carrie woke up a few hours later, long after they’d gotten to Flynn’s apartment, she realised Flynn had fallen asleep on her in the middle of whatever series they’d been binging. Her head was resting against Carrie’s shoulder and she was almost surprised that she’d managed to fall asleep on her. Then again, she did offer to drive all the way to the airport and back with Julie, probably even going as far as to help Jules carry her bag up the _horrendous_ stairs on her way up to the apartment, and then going out of her way to get back in the car and pick up Carrie from half-way across town. 

Before she could overthink the idea, Carrie shifted her position on the couch slightly— careful not to wake Flynn— and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Unfortunately, Flynn was many things, and a heavy sleeper was not one of them. Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled up at Carrie slightly before whispering groggily, “You missed.” 

“I missed?” Carrie raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant. 

But Flynn only pulled her hand out from where it had been wedged somehow underneath her and tapped her lips in response. “You missed,” she repeated, grinning. 

Carrie rolled her eyes, “You’re impossible. I was _obviously_ trying to be subtle.” 

She pouted, “Still waiting.” 

“Fine,” Carrie pressed her lips to Flynn’s. “Happy now?” 

“Yeah,” she smiled softly. “Now, do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” 

Carrie shook her head. “Can you just keep distracting me?” 

A smirk played on Flynn’s lips, “I’m distracting?” 

“You’re… _you,”_ Carrie replied, like that was enough of an answer. 

Flynn sat up, “Wait, can we be serious for a minute?” 

Carrie sighed. _Moment over then._ “I really don’t want to talk about my parents.” 

“Not about that…” She trailed off. “What if I want us to be more than a distraction for each other?”

“I think…” Carrie laced their fingers together. “That’s an idea I’m not opposed to.” 

Flynn instantly brightened, “You think so? Because I’ve been thinking about it and—” 

She used her free hand to cup Flynn’s face. “I want this. I want you to be my girlfriend.” 

“Hell yeah,” she grinned. “Hell fucking yeah, Carrie Wilson.”


	20. You Mocha Me Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their apartment building is a hazard. Like that place is *not* structurally sound...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend said “hey, you should publish chapter 20 on the 20th Feb” and that was all I could think about so here’s chapter 20 early because this week is a double update 👍

“Chris is nice,” Julie insisted. “He’s nice, he’s safe, and he’s comfortable.” 

Carrie eyed her suspiciously, “Who are you trying to convince, us or yourself?” 

AJ glanced at Julie. “I think he’s _too_ safe. Have you done anything with him that’s taken you out of your comfort zone? Comfortable is boring.” 

“You need someone who can keep you on your toes,” Carrie smirked at Flynn. 

“The last time you thought a relationship was comfortable, he’d been cheating on you for over a year,” Flynn pointed out, avoiding Julie’s scowl. “What? Tell me I’m wrong.” 

“He’s _nice,”_ she pointed out. “He holds open doors, offers to drive me to class, shows up already with coffee…” 

“But it’s not the right coffee, is it?” Flynn teased, her eyes falling to the Butterscotch Latte on the table in front of them. “Because if he’s picking you up with coffee ready, then he’s not coming here first.” 

AJ tutted. “I want to meet him, but only to see if he’s up to standard.” 

“The ‘standard’ is currently ‘hasn’t cheated on me’. It’s a pretty low bar,” Julie pointed out. “Besides, he hasn’t had time to do anything adventurous yet. We’ve been dating for like a week. But…” she grinned. “He’s taking me _dancing_ in a few days. How cool is that? Apparently he takes classes.” 

Carrie raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Dancing _is_ worth brownie points in my book.” 

“Babe,” Flynn nudged her. “We’re supposed to be a united front.” 

“United front against what?” Julie watched them cautiously. 

“In general! He’s still not got the Flynn stamp of approval yet!” She pouted. “Further judgement is required. Anyway, what’s Luke think about all this?” 

“He’s happy for me,” Julie replied. “Why?” 

“No reason,” AJ sipped her drink, looking out the window and refusing to meet Julie’s eyes as she texted Reggie under the table. “No reason at all.” 

☕☕☕

“I’m being _tortured,”_ Luke groaned dramatically, lying flat on his back on top of the bar in Eats and Beats. The only people there were Willie, Alex, Nick, Reggie, Ky and Bobby since it was way too early for the place to actually be open. “He’s just so…” 

Bobby sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You’re going to have to give us more than ‘just so’, Lucas, considering you’re the only one who’s _actually_ met him.” 

“Twice,” Alex added. “You’ve met him twice in comparison to our…” he pretended to add it up on his fingers. “Combined total of zero times?” 

“Not on purpose,” Luke protested. He hesitated for a second, “Okay once on purpose. I heard his car— _shit,_ it’s a nice car guys— outside and just _happened_ to be going out for coffee in time to bump into him on his way up.” 

“Going out for— Luke, you _work_ at a literal _coffee shop,_ why would you need to leave your house to get coffee?” Alex sighed, “We all know you have more than enough coffee at home. Mostly because of that one time I caught you ‘borrowing’ the butterscotch stuff so you’re always stocked for when Julie comes next door.” 

“That’s—” he tried to protest, but he got cut off by almost all of his friends chorusing at once. 

_“Accurate.”_

He glared at them. “I thought you were supposed to be trying to cheer me up?” 

Willie swatted him with the towel. “I’ve known Julie for almost my entire life and even I thought there was something between you two. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” 

“I just…” Luke rolled onto his front and rested his head on his arms. “He makes her happy. I want to do that. I don’t want to be jealous, I want her to be happy, and I want to be happy for her.”

“Reg? You got any input?” Nick nudged him and Reggie shrugged. “You’ve been pretty quiet.” 

“Just getting the other side of the story,” he replied casually. 

Luke all but fell off the top of the bar. “You— _what?”_

Reggie looked up from his phone. “Talking to AJ,” he supplied. “The girls are having the same conversation right now. Something about Chris being ‘too comfortable’? I can’t get too many details, y’know, girl code and all—” 

“Girl code,” Willie nodded solemnly. “It’s no joke.” 

“They don’t take it lightly,” Ky agreed. 

“I once accidentally broke it in high school,” Willie shuddered. “Flynn egged my house.” 

Bobby stared at him, “Every day you learn something new about Flynn, and every day I approve of her more for Carrie.” 

“I may or may not have been part of the egging,” Ky scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “But in my defence, you had it coming, dude… And I had to make sure AJ wouldn’t get arrested.” 

“For that, you lose karaoke privileges for three days,” Willie narrowed his eyes at him. “And then no show-tunes for a further three days.” 

Ky groaned, turning to look at Nick. “A hand? Please?” 

Nick was too busy trying to smother his laughter, “Bro you _egged_ his _house.”_

“Who keeps a grudge for this long anyway!” 

☕☕☕

Luke’s headphones bounced up and down around his neck as he jogged towards the door of his apartment block. It didn’t really matter if the door shut before he got there, considering he _did_ have a key, it was just always a hassle to use because sometimes the door got stuck and you have to jiggle it in a certain way so that it actually unlocks. Unfortunately (or, most would argue as _fortunately)_ Chris was on his way up to see Julie, and he caught the door. 

Damn, the dude was so _nice._

“Thanks,” Luke sighed, letting the door shut behind him. “Jules gave you a key?” 

“Yeah, makes things easier,” Chris shrugged as they started to climb the stairs. “You doing anything interesting today?” 

“Probably just music,” he replied. “We haven’t got any gigs lined up but I think Flynn’s trying to work her magic, so when she does you’ll definitely get an invite.” 

Chris grinned, “Looking forward to seeing Julie in her element.” 

“It’s unreal, dude, she’s seriously talented.” 

“I’ve seen her breaking out into song in New York, and a couple of class assignments, but not with your band yet so that’ll be pretty awesome,” he grinned. “But that was impressive in itself.” 

Luke nodded, “I saw Kayla’s live. Nice piano skills, by the way.” 

“Cheers…” he trailed off. “She talks about you a lot, Julie. You guys are just friends, right?” Chris laughed nervously, “Or should I be worried?” 

“Just friends,” Luke confirmed, trying not to let the regret show in his voice.

“Good to know,” Chris waved at him before knocking on Julie’s door. “See you around, Patterson.” 

Julie’s door opened and she smiled at them, “Hey Luke,” she waved. “Chris,” she reached up and pressed her lips to his. “Bye Luke!” Julie called as she led Chris inside and shut the door. 

Luke cleared his throat awkwardly and went inside. Somehow he had a feeling that seeing the girl he was in love with kissing someone else wasn’t going to get any easier any time soon. It took half an hour before his resolve cracked and he traipsed up the stairs to Flynn’s room on the floor above. 

“Patterson?” She raised an eyebrow at him. 

He rolled on the balls of his feet, a nervous hand resting on the back of his neck. “Thin walls,” he finally decided on, and between going back downstairs and being under Flynn’s pitying gaze, Luke almost considered going back downstairs. Before he had the chance to entertain the thought, Flynn opened her door and gestured for him to come inside. “Ice cream?” 

“Where it usually is,” she replied, already on her way to the freezer. “You can put a rom-com on, or you can pace and complain about your love life or lack thereof. Just avoid the dark patch on the floor, I spilled something there and the floorboards have been making a concerning noise ever since.” 

“Have you tried calling the landlord?” Luke suggested, eyeing the floor cautiously. 

Flynn snorted, “I’ll just get Willie to take a look at it sometime soon. Within the next week or something.” 

He started to pace back and forth as Flynn sorted out the ice cream. “You know what he asked me? Chris asked _me_ if Jules and I were just friends?” 

“Why would he ask that?” Flynn threw a look over her shoulder at him. “You know, besides the obvious fact that you’re in love with her.” 

_“Flynn!”_

“I’m not wrong!” She protested. 

“Just blunt, very very _blunt,”_ he sighed. “And apparently I’ve picked up Alex’s model strut over time. Fantastic.” 

She shrugged, not even bothering to turn around as she put the ice cream back into the freezer and reached into the drawer to grab a spoon for each of the bowls. Usually they’d just eat it out of the tub, but after the weird reaction the floor was having to her tea… Flynn didn’t want to risk it. 

“Am I that obvious?” Luke continued, running a hand through his hair. “Seriously, am I _that_ obvious? Then again, he said it because Julie talks—” 

There was a creaking sound, followed by a crash, and when Flynn turned around to investigate, Luke had disappeared from view. Her eyes widened in horror as the screaming started and she rushed over to where he had last been, careful to avoid the now gaping _hole in the floor._

Julie’s apartment was pretty open-plan, which meant that the living room was visible from the bedroom and the kitchen was visible from the living room. This meant that when she was in the middle of making out with Chris on the bed, with his shirt nowhere to be seen and hers practically hanging off, the last thing she expected was for Luke Patterson to fall through her ceiling. 

So she screamed. 

And so did Chris.

Luke winced. He was in a considerable amount of pain, but thankfully he’d sort of hit the couch on his way down which meant he lost a bit of momentum before hitting the ground. Miraculously, he missed landing on the coffee table. _Julie’s_ coffee table. It took a few seconds longer than necessary to process what the _hell_ just happened, but by the time he tried to prop himself up on one arm to get off the floor, Flynn’s face appeared through the hole. 

“You good?” She called down nervously, before looking to the side and noticing Julie and Chris. “Hey Jules… Chris, nice to meet you. Heard great things so far, buddy.” 

Chris stared in horror. “What the fuck?” 

“Seconded,” Luke muttered, unable to sit up for more than a few seconds without feeling dizzy. He slumped to the floor. “Can I— Can I get a hand?” 

It was at that point Julie’s shock disappeared and her best friend instincts kicked in. She grabbed a hoodie, pulling it on haphazardly over her shirt and zipping it up as she scrambled off the bed, _“Shit,_ Luke,” she whispered. “What happened?” 

“Unclear,” he groaned, somehow managing to use the couch to pull himself to his feet. “I’m gonna go.” 

The light was too bright for his eyes and Luke brought up a hand to shield them from it, stumbling forwards and narrowly missing the side table. Julie caught his arm to steady him and suddenly she was all that he could see, and no matter how many times he called her a star, he wasn’t expecting to literally _see stars_ when he looked at her and—

—Yeah, he _definitely_ had something of a concussion. 

Luke blinked and his vision cleared _slightly,_ but not by much. By this point Flynn was bursting through the door and it was loud and Chris was scrambling to find a shirt and everyone was _loud_ and _yelling_ and _panicking_ and his ears were ringing and he just wanted it all to _stop._

“Luke,” one of the voices broke through the disjointed sounds reaching his ears and it was Julie, and she was reaching a tender hand up to the side of his face. “We’re gonna take you to the emergency room, ‘kay?” When he didn’t respond, she asked again. “Luke? Still with me?” 

In a moment of weakness, he let his head drop onto her shoulder as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Mhmmm,” he mumbled. “Sure. Wh’ever you say, Boss.” 

“Chris, I’m gonna need to borrow your car,” Julie asked quietly. “Flynn, can you get Carrie to drop him home? I’m guessing you’ll be staying with her for a few days considering there’s a _hole_ in your apartment?”

“Loud and clear, Jules. I’ll handle it,” she assured her. “Just make sure he doesn’t die on you.” 

Luke felt Julie tense underneath him and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. Okay maybe it was also because he felt like he was about to fall over but _mostly_ because he was trying to be comforting. “‘M fine,” he mumbled. 

“You are _so_ far from fine right now,” she pulled his arm over her shoulders and grabbed her bag, managing to slip her dinosaur slippers on instead of shoes on the way out the door. “But as long as you don’t fall asleep, we’ll be okay.” 

☕☕☕

“So the doc said no music for a week—” Julie paused, expecting Luke to groan, but instead he just pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the car window and squeezed his eyes shut. “And to keep an eye on you for the next 48 hours to make sure nothing bad happens, like as a delayed reaction.”

He sighed, “I know, I was there.” 

“Sorry, you just seemed pretty zoned for a bit at the end so I thought I’d go over it,” she pulled into the car park by the apartment building. Apart from that brief conversation, the drive back from the emergency room had been pretty silent, considering Luke probably had a headache, and since he was going to be okay Julie had finally allowed her to be a little shaken up by the fact that her best friend _fell through her ceiling_ and probably could have _died._

“Don’t ‘pologise. Not your fault,” he replied quietly. 

“And to think,” she joked weakly. “We always thought Alex would be the one to pace a hole in the floor.” 

A smile teased at Luke’s lips as the car came to a stop, but that was the extent to which his mood improved. His head was home to a dull ache that refused to disappear, and he instantly stumbled upon getting out of the car and was forced to grab the door to not fall over. Julie was by his side within seconds, leading him into the building and into the elevator. 

“Stairs?” Luke frowned. 

It was a well-known fact that the elevator was unreliable. 

“Not a chance,” Julie shook her head. “Come on.” 

For once, the elevator worked without a problem. Maybe that was the universe’s way of saying, _‘hey luke, sorry you fell through the ceiling earlier, we’ll make sure you don’t have two near-death experiences in one day’?_ Either way, Luke was relieved to get back to his apartment in one piece. He stopped at the door as Julie used her key to open it. 

“Thanks,” he managed to smile a little. “Sorry for the…” Luke pointed upwards, “Dramatic entrance?” 

“Oh, is that what we’re calling it?” She nudged him. “Don’t worry about it. You hungry?” Julie walked past Luke into his apartment, and when she saw he wasn’t following, made a point of going back and pulling him inside and shutting the door after. 

He had no choice but to follow her into his kitchen, “You don’t need to—” 

Realistically, there was no point in arguing with Julie. 

(Ever, but especially right now.)

She turned around and levelled him with a stern look. Yeah, no point in arguing. 

Luke raised his hands in surrender and backed towards the bedroom, wincing when he misjudged the angle of the corner cabinet and caught himself on it. “I’ll just go lie down then.” 

“You do that,” she replied. 

He eased himself on top of the bed and kicked off his shoes. Other than the very obvious concussion, Luke had miraculously managed to sustain minimal further injuries. His ribs were more than a little bruised, and there was a cut along the side of his chin that had ended up needing stitches, but other than that he was relatively okay. A little— okay, a _lot—_ shaken up, but after a few weeks he’d be completely fine. 

Luke leant back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. From the other room, he could just about hear Julie on the phone. 

“Okay, what else? Frozen peas work, right? And no alcohol, sugary drinks, or dairy. Thanks, Wills. I’ll keep you posted.”

Two minutes later, Julie poked her head around the door. “Hey,” she whispered, walking in slowly and hesitating by the light switch. “On or off?” 

“Off, please,” he requested, immediately relaxing when the room darkened and the light couldn’t contribute to his headache. 

She walked over and held up a towel. “So this is really fucking cold. It’s a bag of frozen peas, in a towel, for your ribs. I was going to make you a blueberry smoothie, but the blueberries are next door and blenders are super loud so I don’t want to give you a headache. Is it cool if I go to mine for like a second or two? Don’t die in the meantime?” 

He let out a quiet laugh, “Jules, you don’t need to do any of this… but I’ll take the peas while you’re here.” 

“I’ll be back,” she sent a smile in his direction before disappearing again. 

The faint sound of the blender could be heard through the wall, before she returned with a tall glass and set it on the bedside table. “Hey,” she announced herself in case he hadn’t noticed. “It’s here if you want it. I’ll sit over there and you can call if you need anything?” 

“Jules?” Luke asked carefully. “Can you stay here? Hurts less when you’re around.” 

She smiled, rolling her eyes. “Can I see the science behind that?” Careful not to jolt him, Julie climbed onto the bed gingerly before setting herself down next to him. “What can I do to help?” 

“Just keep talking,” he mumbled, leaning against her.

“Anything?” 

“Anything.” 

“Okay, well there was this one time in high school when this random dude tried to steal AJ’s pretzel in a Costco parking lot—”

☕☕☕

When Julie woke up, she didn’t want to move. Half of that was because during the night she’d ended up with her head tucked under Luke’s chin and in the position she’d managed to get into, she was terrified to hurt him. The other half… she was really comfy, okay? In order of comfiness to fall asleep on, Luke was definitely near the top. He came second only to Alex, but that’s because Alex gave better hugs than anyone she had ever met in her entire life. 

Plus, if Julie _did_ try to extract herself from where her arms were both wrapped around one of Luke’s, he’d probably wake up. He needed the rest, so she stayed put. _Whatever you have to tell yourself, Julie,_ a little voice in the back of her mind whispered, but she blocked it out by focusing on Luke’s heartbeat instead. Steady, constant, comforting. It was a little cold, considering her hoodie was incredibly thin and she’d only pulled it on in a hurry to cover the fact that her shirt was mostly unbuttoned, but Luke was like a walking heater, so the closer Julie snuggled up to him— still wary of his injuries— the warmer she got. 

It was almost reminiscent of the night they spent in his car in the middle of nowhere. She almost laughed at the memory. 

_Luke managed to find the button at the same time as both him and Julie were leaning on the seat, and when his hand closed around it the seat dropped down and they both fell forwards into the back of the car._

_“You found it then?” Julie laughed, her face inches from Luke’s._

_“Yeah,” he whispered, “Found it.”_

_It only took ten minutes for them to sort the back of the car out enough for them both to crash there. Luke shut the trunk before climbing in from one of the back doors and stretching out in his spot next to Julie. An old jacket of his was folded up long enough to stay under both of their heads as a makeshift pillow, and the back of the car was comfier than they initially expected. His hand brushed Julie’s arm as she tried to get into a more comfortable position and Luke realised she was absolutely frozen._

_“Julie,” he tried, but she didn’t hear him, too busy running her fingers through the ends of her hair. “Jules,” Luke tried again, more insistent. “You’re freezing.”_

_“I’m fine, Luke,” she sighed, eyes almost giving in to tiredness._

_“Jules,” he whispered, opening his arms. “C’mere.”_

_She didn’t need telling twice, and rolled into the warmth provided by her friend._

Despite the whole ‘getting stranded in the middle of nowhere’, it was actually a pretty fond memory for the both of them. So when Julie ended up drifting back off to sleep, too early to function properly anyway and thankful of the fact that she didn’t have any plans, she dreamt of waking up in the middle of nowhere, lazily enjoying the fact that she was wrapped in Luke’s arms as streaks of the rising sun edged through the car windows. 

Of course, that only meant when Luke eventually woke up, Julie was still asleep, and it was like he’d just missed her. At least that meant he had a few moments to himself. Unbeknownst to Julie, he was thinking about the same event. 

_He could barely feel his right arm, numb as Julie had moved in the night and ended up on top of it. Not that he minded, but as he opened his eyes slightly he could see the sunrise casting a halo around her head, which was resting on his chest._

_He wasn’t sure he’d ever gotten up this early in his life, but this time it felt worth it._

_Julie’s arm was thrown across his chest, with her hand fisted in his shirt near his collarbone, almost as if to keep the two of them tethered together._

_It was like this, in these little moments, that the world could stop turning and Luke wouldn’t even notice._

Yeah, this was admittedly a pretty nice thing to wake up to. Honestly? Luke wouldn’t mind waking up to something like this every day for the rest of his life. But… he couldn’t have that, because Julie was with _Chris._ Her and Luke were just friends. 

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy this while it lasted.


	21. Teach Me Your Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yes the title is a tea pun  
> yes i'm running out of these puns  
> send help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this is a long chapter :)

Julie pulled out her phone for what could’ve been the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, and sent a text to Luke. Honestly, she’d lost count after check-in number twelve. Was she worried about him? Definitely. Was she going a little overboard? Quite possibly. Okay, more than 'quite possibly’. Chris reached over and put his hand on hers before she had a chance to send the text. 

“He’s going to be okay, Julie,” he reassured her. “He’s with your other bandmates.” 

“I know,” she sighed. “Just nervous.” 

“If you want, I can turn the car around. We don’t have to do this today.” 

She shook her head. “Nope, I’m excited to go dancing. I am. It just feels weird because I’ve been checking in on Luke constantly since the accident, and he’s obviously not got a serious head injury, because symptoms would have been present by now if he did, but we’ve pushed dancing back once already and I _am_ excited, I’m just still worried about him. He fell through my ceiling, Chris, how the _fuck_ does a person just _fall_ through the ceiling?” 

Chris laughed, “Ease up, babe. If something happens, either Alex, Bobby or Reggie will call you. Besides, he said it himself before we left, he wanted you to go and have fun.”

“God, do you think he was trying to get rid of me because I was smothering him?” Julie groaned. 

“He knows you care, you just need to relax. Nothing bad is going to happen. Anyway, when’s your landlord fixing the hole? Luke said you’ve barely been back to your place since it happened,” he asked, concerned. 

She sighed, “I didn’t want to leave him alone, but… it’s also really weird going back there and looking up and there’s a _hole_ because it was pretty fucking terrifying to witness. You know, once I realised what was happening.” 

“I get that, like I was so scared.” 

“And there’s still plaster and stuff all over the floor, and probably a little bit of blood, and I really don’t want to tackle that,” Julie admitted. “His couch is easier.” 

Chris shot her a judgemental but well-meaning look. “The couch, huh?” 

“I spent at least one night on the couch, then caved when Luke realised and said either I slept on the bed or he’d sleep on the floor, and considering he has a concussion and needs the rest, I couldn’t have him on the floor, so we just both ended up on the bed,” she admitted. “But nothing happened.” 

“It’s fine,” Chris shrugged. “I trust you. Dance?”

“Dance,” she agreed, putting her phone away. 

☕☕☕

“I—” 

“Miss Julie?” Reggie suggested with a smirk. 

Luke glared at him. “First of all, I was going to say ‘I’m hungry’. Second of all, am I _that_ predictable?” 

“Yes,” Alex answered, a drumstick balanced on his finger. “You are.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Fake friends, all of you.” 

“Would we be your best friends if we _didn’t_ tease you about the fact that you’re in love with your other best friend?” Bobby pointed out. “It’s like, part of the unwritten rules or something.” 

“He’s right,” Alex moved his hand and caught the drumstick as it fell, pointing it at Reggie. “What kind of friends would we be if we neglected our unwritten duties?” 

Luke sighed, tilting his head back. He was about to say something when the phone chimed. Technically he was supposed to be avoiding screens, so his phone sat on the table within Alex’s reach, so he could read his messages out to him. Luke instantly perked up and Reggie shot him a disappointed look. 

_“Dude.”_

“What did she say?” He asked, waiting for Alex to read the message. 

Alex rolled his eyes, “I’m not even gonna ask _how_ you knew it was Julie. She’s just checking in. Again. She cares about you a _lot._ What do you want me to tell her? I think she’s about to go into dance.” 

“That I’m fine and she should be enjoying herself,” Luke decided. “And to not text again until afterwards. If anything happens, we’ll call _her._ Okay?” 

“And… sent.” Alex put the phone down. “Now what?” 

“Looking at lyrics still makes my head spin…” Luke sighed, “But I have an idea on what we could do?” 

“Nothing dangerous,” Bobby warned. 

Luke rolled his eyes, “I still feel like shit, why would I actively try to make myself feel worse?” 

Reggie shrugged, “I don’t know dude, but last time you were left unsupervised you fell through the floor.” 

“I’m never living this down, am I?” Luke groaned. 

“Two seconds,” he continued. “Flynn turned around for _two seconds.”_

“We get it, I’m a walking disaster. Can we move on now?” 

Luke grabbed the cushion nearest to him and hurled it at Reggie’s head, but he moved and it hit Bobby instead, who scowled at the both of them before sighing and standing up, “What did you have in mind, Luke?” 

☕☕☕

The instructor demonstrated the dance and Julie followed along, her hands in Chris’ as they moved along with the others in the class. She was having a good time, but she couldn’t seem to get Luke off her mind. It could just be because she was worried about him… but that didn’t make it any easier to concentrate on the dance. 

_“You gonna be okay?” Julie asked, putting her phone and purse into her bag. “Alex and Reggie will be here in a few minutes, and if you need anything you can call me—”_

_“Jules,” he put his hands on her shoulders, running them down her arms until he could pull her in for a hug. “I’m okay. I’m gonna be okay. I’m not going to do anything stupid and I’m_ definitely _not going to fall through any more ceilings.”_

_“You didn’t exactly have a choice the first time around,” she pointed out._

_Luke laughed, “Yeah, I guess I didn’t. But at least I’m going to be actively avoiding that scenario from now on?”_

_“And no phone,” she warned. “Alex can answer and send any messages if necessary.”_

_“I know,” he smiled. “Now go and enjoy your date!”_

_She reached up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before she could think any better of it, “See you later.” Julie left just in time to catch Alex and Reggie at the top of the stairs, recounting the list of things Luke was and wasn’t allowed to do, while Luke lifted his hand to brush a featherlight touch over the spot where Julie had kissed him, grinning._

For some reason, Julie couldn’t stop thinking about that specific moment. She attempted to push it to the back of her mind and focus on the dance, ducking under Chris’ arm so he could twirl her. She looked away towards the mirror, but as she focused on it properly her brain seemed to convince her that it wasn’t Chris she was dancing with, it was _Luke._

Her first thought was _‘he shouldn’t be doing this with a concussion’._

Then Julie realised that she was definitely imagining this, so that wouldn’t exactly be a problem. The dream version of Luke had replaced Chris, and Julie barely had time to notice that everything around them seemed to have faded away as she danced with him. The backing music of the dance had slowly changed from whatever it was originally— she hadn’t really been paying that much attention in the first place, her mind had been wandering since before they even started— with a soft acoustic guitar melody that Julie sometimes found herself dreaming about. It would only appear in her dreams if she was falling asleep later than what would normally be considered healthy, almost as if it was being played specifically for her. 

It was virtually the same choreography as before, except they both seemed to know it by heart as they moved seamlessly, effortlessly, spinning through the moves like they’d been practicing their whole lives for this exact moment. When the music finally ended, she spun back into Chris’ arms and was filled with a sense of unfamiliarity, the opposite she’d felt when she thought she’d been dancing with Luke. It was like a jolt back into reality almost. 

It didn’t feel right. 

“I— I’ll be right back,” Julie managed to say as she pushed herself away from Chris and disappeared to get some air, grabbing her bag on the way out. She leant against the wall outside, catching her breath. 

If she was dating Chris, why was she daydreaming about Luke?

If she liked Chris, why was she always thinking about Luke?

_Fuck._

☕☕☕

After composing herself and going back outside, making up some lie about how the lights were too bright and she had a bit of a headache, or anything that Chris was likely to believe. Unfortunately, with Chris being the naturally nice person he is, even when she said she was feeling better he insisted on taking her home to lie down and relax instead of going out for lunch. 

Which was how they ended up outside Julie’s apartment, the door of which was _wide_ open. Chris instantly got worried, but Julie waved him off. “It’s probably Luke.” 

“You just give him free rein of your apartment?” He asked, sceptical. 

“I mean I have a key to his, so it’s fair,” she shrugged. “Besides, he knows where everything is anyway.” 

Chris frowned at that, but he didn’t say anything. He did insist on going into the apartment first, just in case, and Julie rolled her eyes but didn’t argue against him on it. Just as she’d predicted, Luke was inside, along with Alex, Reggie, and Bobby. Alex was holding a large trash bag and Reggie was tipping more bits of debris into it, and Bobby was balanced on a ladder, inspecting the ceiling.

Julie froze. “What the—” 

Alex jumped, the first to see her. “Julie, hey! We weren’t doing anything suspicious?” 

“Dude, we’re being nice, chill,” Reggie hissed to him. 

Bobby looked up, “Oh, hi,” before putting another piece of tape on the ceiling.

Her gaze wandered over to Luke and he raised his hands in surrender. “I haven’t done anything dangerous.” 

“What’s going on?” She sighed, dropping her bag on the kitchen counter. 

Luke shrugged, “I know you feel weird sleeping at your place because of the hole in the ceiling and the fact that the ceiling is on the floor and it looked like a bomb had gone off so when Alex was like ‘what should we do today?’ I thought we should help clear up your place, y’know, since I was the one who made the mess.” He added as an afterthought, before she could lecture him about blaming himself for the incident, “Accidentally. When I _accidentally_ fell through the ceiling.” He gestured vaguely upwards and it was then when Julie noticed it was… _almost_ fixed? 

Well, if by fixed you mean covered in packaging tape, which was pretty obvious, but it was definitely better than before. The boys almost seemed to have used an entire roll to make sure there was no light from Flynn’s apartment peeking through. The floor was almost completely clear, with Reggie having emptied the last of the debris into the trash as she walked in. 

“You did this for me?” 

“They did all the work,” Luke directed the praise at Bobby, Alex, and Reggie. “I tried to help, but—” 

“Still concussed,” Reggie finished for him with a grin. “Besides, we were happy to help.” 

Luke stood up, shifting awkwardly as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “Well, since we’re done… and you’re back… we’ll go back to my place.” 

Before they had a chance to go anywhere, Julie grabbed Alex and Reggie and pulled them in for a hug, whispering _“Thank you,”_ as she squeezed them tightly. 

“It was Luke’s idea,” Alex replied with a shrug. “Even if we _did_ do all of the work.” 

Bobby hopped down from the ladder and collapsed it, tucking it under one arm. Unable to let Julie give him a hug without accidentally injuring someone with the ladder— and not having the common sense to put it down— he patted her on the head a couple of times before following Alex and Reggie. Luke started to walk towards the door but Julie threw her arms around him. 

“Thank you,” she smiled, melting into his embrace. 

He looked down at her, his expression impossibly soft. “Anything for you, Jules. You know that.” 

Then he remembered Chris was still standing there, and the moment ended. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he waved at him. “Chris.” 

“Luke.” 

He looked back at Julie, realising his arms were still partially around her. In the spur of the moment, he tugged her back towards him and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “See you around,” he grinned, disappearing before either of them could process what he had just done.

☕☕☕

A week later, Luke was woken up abruptly at the ungodly hour of _six_ in the morning. (It was early for him, okay? He usually liked to take the later shifts at Mrs Harrison’s to _avoid_ getting up this early. He reached over, initially thinking that it was his alarm that had malfunctioned, but when the ringing stopped and started again he realised that it wasn’t his alarm tone. He let out a groan and grabbed the phone, sliding it across to answer after glancing at the unfamiliar number. If it was one of those goddamn window salesmen he was going to throw a fit. _Why_ people tried to sell windows _over the phone_ to people who probably already have windows is something that has always mystified Luke. 

“Who is this?” Luke frowned, not recognising the number. 

“It’s Chris. Julie’s boyfriend?” 

He sat upright, suddenly wide awake. “Chris? How did you get my number?” 

“Julie gave it to me in case of emergencies,” he explained. 

Luke’s mind instantly went to worst-case scenarios. “What kind of emergency? What happened? Is she okay?” 

“What? Yeah, she’s fine. Sorry if I scared you,” Chris sighed. “I just need your advice.” 

“Why would you need my advice?” 

“You know Julie better than anyone, except maybe Flynn, Willie, or Lita, and I don’t have any of their numbers. I don’t know what to do for Valentine’s Day. It’s our first one, and I want to make it special.” 

He sighed. On one hand, he was about to reel off a list of things that _he_ would want to do with Julie. On the other hand, Luke wanted her to be happy, and if Chris made her happy… “Have you got a pen?” 

“Huh?” 

“Notes, dude. You’re gonna need to take notes.” 

There was a rapid scrambling on the other end of the phone and Luke waited a second before starting. “Right. You better be listening, because this is going to be hard to put together—” 

☕☕☕

Chris perched on the ladder to hang the fairy lights around the tree as Flynn sat on one of the branches, helping Carrie with the sheet they were hanging from it. “So,” he asked, glancing over at them. “What are you two doing for Valentine's Day?” 

Carrie shrugged, “Vegas. Taking my dad’s jet.” 

“Your dad has a jet?” He spluttered, almost falling off the ladder. 

Flynn grinned, “He’s Trevor Wilson. Y’know, the rockstar?” 

“Who?” 

Carrie and Flynn shared a glance. _How could Julie be dating someone who is so blind to her taste in music?_ “The point is, he’s really famous. He’s also really mad that I booked the jet for V-Day, so he’s stuck at the mansion.” 

“I really don’t think being ‘stuck at the mansion’ is as bad a thing as you make it sound,” he pointed out. “But I hope you enjoy your trip.” 

“We’ll just have to try and not accidentally get married,” Flynn shrugged, “Jules would murder me if I didn’t let her be my maid of honour.” 

Chris laughed, “What about everyone else?” 

“Well Luke and Bobby are the only single ones left so they’ll probably do something that resembles a date because they’re lonely, and then not call it a date because they would hate being in a relationship with each other,” Carrie replied. “Like ‘hey, let’s go to a romantic concert and then have dinner on the beach but in a totally platonic way’. Wouldn’t be the first time.” 

Flynn snorted, “They’ve done that?” 

“They’re so clueless, one time they went to see a romcom _on Valentine’s Day,_ and sat at the back of the theatre wondering why everyone around them was making out,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t tell Bobby I said that, he’s got way too much dirt on me to know I’ve been talking about him.” 

Flynn raised an eyebrow, “And Luke?” 

“I can take Luke,” Carrie replied confidently. “But Bobby has known me my entire life. He’s got way too much ammo to risk it.” She called over to Alex and Willie, “What about you boys? What are you doing tomorrow?” 

“Museum, dancing, and mini-golf, then crashing at Willie’s place,” Alex replied, grinning at Willie as he passed him. “Soon to be _our_ place. Reg? What about you and AJ?” 

Reggie glanced at AJ, who pulled the concert tickets out of her phone case. “Suck it, y’all, you _wish_ you could be this cool.” 

“Are you guys going to an AJR concert?” Ky stared at the tickets. “Lucky. We’re going to a drive-in movie. Which is cool, but not _as_ cool.” 

He turned around to fiddle with the projector, and Nick grinned, mouthing: _“We’re actually seeing Hamilton. Say nothing.”_

Luke shrugged, “And I’ll probably just jam with Bobby. Maybe go for some dinner. Watch Netflix. Normal stuff.”

“Where _is_ my brother?” Carrie finally realised.

“Keeping Julie out of the way while we sort this,” Luke replied. “I think they’re bowling or something.” He frowned as Chris checked his watch for the fourth time in the last few minutes. “Got somewhere to be?” 

He shook his head. “I just have a job interview in a few hours. But we’ll be finished by then.” 

☕☕☕

The ball rolled into the gutter and Bobby groaned, “I’ll get you in the next round, I swear I will.” 

“Aw, Bobert, do we need to put the bumpers up for you?” Julie teased, “Or get one of the little kids' ramp things?” 

“Fuck off,” he rolled his eyes, bumping her shoulder with his good-naturedly. “At least I’m better at the arcade games.” 

She laughed, “If you win me something I’ll tell everyone we tied to preserve your dignity?” 

Bobby shook his head, “I will beat you eventually. So, got any plans for Valentines Day?”

“Chris said he was planning something,” she replied, picking up one of the bowling balls and lining up the shot. “Not sure what though. Very secretive about it.” 

“You have no idea what he’s planning?” 

“Nope,” she let go of the ball and it sailed down the lane, knocking down seven of the pins. Bobby opened his mouth to say something but Julie held up a finger to silence him as she grinned, watching as two of the knocked over pins rolled, taking down the rest of them. 

_“How,”_ he stared at the screen as it celebrated her strike. _“How.”_

Julie shrugged, “I contain multitudes.” She picked up her milkshake and stirred it with her straw absentmindedly. “What about you? Going anywhere with anyone special?”

He scoffed, “I’ll probably just watch Netflix with Luke. Get takeout. Do music stuff. Chill.”

She tried to hide her amusement, “Did you just imply that you’d _‘netflix and chill’_ with Luke?” 

“There were several other words between the Netflix and the chill!” Bobby complained. “Ugh, just go back to decimating me at bowling.” 

“It’s literally _your_ turn,” she laughed, nudging him towards the rack.

☕☕☕

“Where are we going?” Julie laughed, stumbling blindly with her hand over her eyes and grabbing onto Chris to stop herself from falling. “I thought you said we were doing dinner and a movie.” 

“We are,” he replied, guiding her across the grass. “You’ll see. You can open your eyes now.” 

Julie removed her hand and gazed in awe. They had a perfect view of the sunset, and there were fairy lights and a sheet strung up on the tree so they could project a movie onto it, the picnic blanket was on the floor for them to sit on, along with a basket of food and drinks, and extra blankets in case the temperature took a turn for the cold. 

“Wow,” she whispered. “You did all this?” 

Chris shrugged, “I had help. Wait, let me take a photo of you with the lights and the sunset in the background. You can put it on your Instagram.” 

“I barely use Instagram,” she laughed. 

“You look really beautiful though,” he pleaded, pulling out his phone. 

Julie rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling at him as she stepped out of the tree’s shade and into the low sun’s glow. She closed her eyes and did a little twirl, spreading out her arms and laughing as he snapped a photo, her hair silhouetted by the pink and orange hues cast from the light and the sky. He took a few photos and sent them over, and Julie posted them quickly as Chris set up the projector. She put her phone away straight after and watched him get out the food, not noticing her phone buzz as a few comments from her friends came in. Lita commented on the lighting and her hair, Bobby hinted that the guy who organised that for her ‘must be something special, huh?’.

Luke didn’t comment, he just liked the photo, smiled at his phone for a few seconds, and tried _not_ to think about Julie as he reached for another slice of pizza and let the movie play in the background.


	22. Get A Drip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's a short time skip in the middle btw :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to wishful_stargazer because of the amazing chapter titles they dropped into the comment section on the last chapter!! literally i owe you one, so this chapter is for you, and thanks for the support!!

“It’s fine, it was amicable?” Julie suggested, swaddled in her favourite sweatshirt with a tub of ice cream in her lap, watching as some random girl on screen had the guy of her dreams run after her through a crowded airport, while she sat in her apartment alone at eight o’clock on a Saturday night surrounded by nothing but tissues and the fact that she would quite possibly _never_ find real love. 

“Jules,” Reggie sighed, knocking on her door. “If you’re sitting in your apartment alone crying into your rom-com snacks… it wasn’t amicable.” 

With Flynn and Carrie deciding to make a stop (or a few) on the way back from their Valentine’s Vegas trip, and Luke having to leave unexpectedly to help his sister move into her new apartment, Reggie had taken it upon himself to comfort her during the post-breakup crisis. 

Julie stood up, brushed down her sweatpants and answered the door. “By amicable I mean he didn’t cheat on me, that’s the bar we’re going with here,” she clarified. “He got a job out of state and wanted to focus on preparing for it when the semester ends. _Amicable.”_

Reggie shook his head, before sighing and patting her on the shoulder. He kicked the door shut behind him with his foot and revealed another tub of ice cream that he’d been hiding behind his back. “Friends don’t let friends eat breakup ice cream alone.” 

“Have I ever told you you’re my favourite member of Sunset Curve?” She grinned, pulling him into a one-armed hug. 

He laughed, “Just for that, I’m texting Luke. He’s gonna be _so_ jealous.” Reggie flopped onto the couch and propped his head up on his hands. “So. How’d it really go down?” 

“Already told you, he had priorities and I guess I just wasn't one of them,” her gaze lingered on her phone, Instagram open and on the photo she’d posted a few days earlier. “And he did all that nice stuff on Valentine’s Day.” 

“I got to help with that,” Reggie chimed in. “It was fun. He did the right thing calling Luke though.” 

Julie froze, “What do you mean he called Luke?” Chris _had_ said something about having to bring in help… 

His eyes widened and Reggie looked around for anything that would give him a chance to change the subject. “So how about this movie, huh? What a cliché, can’t get enough of it.” 

“Reggie,” Julie fixed him with a stern look and he sighed. 

“Chris asked Luke for help. The person behind all of it wasn’t him, it was Luke. Your boyfriend— sorry, _ex-_ boyfriend panicked and didn’t know what to do so he called him. Then Luke employed all of _us_ to help with the setup, while Bobby distracted you. He didn’t mind having to distract you, considering you don’t hang out that much. He had a lot of fun.”

For some reason, instead of trying to process the implications of the fact that her best friend basically planned a romantic night for her and her boyfriend, she asked a random question that had been brought to the front of her mind. “Wait, was Bobby losing in an attempt to stall me? Or is he actually that bad at bowling?” 

“Oh, no he really sucks at bowling.” 

Before Julie could ask any more questions, the front door swung open and Willie burst in. “I have something to take your mind off the breakup!” 

She stared at him, waiting for a response. Willie seemed to have been caught off guard for a second by the fact that Reggie was there, but he shook it off and got back on task. “Well, Reg, since you’re here then I guess you can be the second person to know. After Julie.” 

“Awesome,” he grinned. “Know what?” 

Willie pulled a small box out of his pocket and held it up to the light. “I want to propose to Alex.” 

They received a noise complaint from the neighbours for all the excited screaming. 

☕☕☕

“So AJ is taking Alex out and Caleb agreed to let me close early tonight, so we have about three hours of practice before I need to be back home,” Willie explained. Flynn slid a CD across the bar to him. 

“Your mix, as requested.” 

Julie smiled, ready to start. She’d never seen Willie so happy, and he was so excited about the proposal he’d already planned most of it. He got the idea from when he was walking along Sunset Boulevard with Alex and a flash mob started out of nowhere. Alex enjoyed the whole thing so since they both liked to dance, Willie filed that information away for later. 

Well, now it was later, and Willie, Carrie, and Ky had finally finished enough to start teaching the group of friends (because why hire professional dancers when you had enough friends for a small flash mob?) the moves for it. 

“I haven’t quite figured out how we’re going to start yet, how we’re going to introduce the music… or how we’re going to have an excuse to get everyone outside, but let’s just say that it’s there, okay?” 

Julie grinned, “We’ll figure that out later. So is AJ going to be able to catch up on the choreography?” 

“Ky’s going to teach her,” he replied. “I’d have brought Lita into this but she was very determined to remind me that if she danced, people would get _injured,_ but she wants us to film the whole thing. Also we’re all broke, and we can only afford for her to come back for the actual wedding. Well, if he says yes.” 

Luke put a hand on Willie’s shoulder. “Dude, he’s gonna say yes.” 

“I don’t want to spring it on him though,” Willie hesitated. “What if it freaks him out?” 

“Alex is in love with you,” Reggie reassured him. “He wants to spend the rest of his life with you.” He lowered his voice a little. “He looks at you like Luke looks at Julie.” 

Luke swatted Reggie on the arm, looking around to make sure Julie hadn’t heard that last part. She was oblivious, leaning against the counter next to Flynn and Ky. “Reginald!” he huffed. 

“What? She’s not with Chris anymore,” Reggie shrugged. “Shoot your shot!” 

Rolling his eyes, Luke lowered his voice, shooting periodic looks at Julie to make sure she couldn’t hear. “Are you kidding? Asking someone out while they’re still recovering from a breakup is a dick move. There’s no way she wants to go straight into another relationship.” 

“How do you know what she wants if you haven’t asked her?” Willie cut in. 

“How do I ask her without knowing what she wants?” Luke fired back. 

“What?” Reggie looked between them, slightly confused. “You could just _ask_ her. Like ‘hey, Julie, go out with me and also I’m in love with you’.” 

Willie snorted, “That’s not a question, that’s a fact.” 

“How about we focus on your proposal?” Luke sighed, trying to distract Willie from the conversation he _really_ didn’t want to be having. “Where do we start?” 

“Well _actually,”_ Willie smirked, looking past Luke and at Julie. “It starts with you and Jules.” 

☕☕☕

Julie sighed, flopping onto the bean bag next to Carrie’s bed. Flynn was perched on top, eyebrow raised. “I don’t see the issue here, Jules. You duet him at the beginning of the proposal, you ask him to be your date to the wedding… it’s simple.” 

She rolled her eyes, “I can’t just _ask_ him to be my date to the wedding.”

“Not the first time you’ve been to a wedding with him,” Flynn pointed out. 

“I didn’t have possible feelings for him then!” 

Carrie walked in at that point, unable to hide her laughter. “First of all, Molina, you had feelings for him then, you just didn’t know it.” When Julie opened her mouth to protest, Carrie cut her off. “I’m right, you know I’m right. You liked him then, you like him now.”

“Care’s right,” Flynn agreed. “Also that boy is _seriously_ gone for you, Jules. He’s not gonna say no.” 

“I don’t want to mess up our friendship though,” she sighed. “And the band—” 

“Will survive,” Flynn replied firmly. “Nick and Ky are dating, and they’re in a band together. Remember? Besides, if you and Luke are going to make eyes at each other every performance, you better goddamn acknowledge it.” 

Carrie smirked, “The band’s fans already have a ship name for you. _Jukebox._ Well, to be fair I’m pretty sure _Reggie_ started it and then it caught on, but still. They can see it and they don’t even know you. Anyway, when was the last time you actually _talked_ to Luke?”

Julie bit her lip, “Well we’ve been busy with the rehearsals for the proposal so we haven’t had much time _there,_ and I haven’t had time to talk to him properly in a while anyway. Maybe a week? Maybe more? I’ve been swamped with class and he’s been working…” 

“Jules! Get it together!” Flynn sighed. 

Julie groaned and turned over, her screams half-absorbed by the beanbag. When she was finished, she flopped back onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “What the hell do I do?” 

Somehow, Flynn managed to answer with a straight face. “Luke.” 

_“Not_ helping.” 

“I just feel like it would clear up a lot of unresolved issues!” 

Carrie could barely contain her laughter.

☕☕☕

Julie raised an eyebrow as she walked over to Eats and Beats. “You’re early,” she mused. 

“Hey,” Luke looked up from his phone, “Trying to buy a car. Or a truck. Basically any vehicle that can get me from A to B. Doesn’t need to be able to hold a load of instruments because Bobby’s fixing up his Dad’s old minivan… Thoughts?” He turned the screen to face her and Julie snorted. “That bad?” 

“That _colour?”_

“Fair enough,” he laughed. “What about this one?” 

She scanned over it. “Shit, it’s older than my Abuela.”

“I’ll take that as a no then.” Luke swiped onto the next screenshot, frowning when he came across a photo of Reggie with a puppy strapped across his chest instead. “I forgot I had WhatsApp autosave on.” 

Julie leaned over to see what he was looking at, “Oh my god I remember that! Is that from the band chat? It appeared in my camera roll yesterday too.” 

She remembered the event fondly. A few months ago, she’d been woken up early by a call from Luke announcing that Reggie was puppy-sitting for someone, so he’d decided to bring the dog _everywhere_ he went, including to work. Mrs Harrison let him off the hook because it was so damn adorable. 

_It was seven on a Tuesday morning, and since she had nothing planned, Julie had promised herself she would sleep in until at least ten. She swatted the phone again but it didn’t give up, and that was when she noticed the chime wasn’t her alarm, but her ringtone._

_Her ringtone for Luke._

_Begrudgingly, she rolled over and reached for her glasses as she answered the phone. “Honestly, Patterson,” she mumbled. “Don’t call me before eight if you want me to be a functioning human being, alright?”_

_Luke ignored her, already starting to talk. Why he sounded like someone trying to sell her windows was beyond her, honestly. “You may have wondered in your lifetime, pondered even, thinking about if Reggie was to get a puppy, would he carry it in one of those front-wearing baby pouches?”_

_“I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that,” Julie replied groggily. “But continue.”_

_“Well,” Luke requested to switch the call to FaceTime and Julie reluctantly accepted. “Here’s the answer.”_

_The camera panned around to Reggie, jazz hands and all, with a puppy strapped to his chest._

_Julie’s jaw_ dropped _._

_“This is Benji,” Reggie explained, lifting one of the puppy’s paws to wave to the camera. “I’m puppy-sitting for a friend.”_

_“I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.” Julie put down the phone, just about able to make out Luke’s indignant shout of:_

_“Jules, you don’t have a car!”_

Luke grinned, thinking of the looks on everyone’s faces when Reggie had shown up for work that morning sporting a small dog. Alex almost messed up a customer’s order, staring in surprise, and AJ— who just happened to be the customer in question— was rendered speechless. The photo became her lockscreen pretty quickly. 

“I got pretty attached to Benji,” Julie smiled at the photo. “Wouldn’t mind getting a dog. Wouldn’t be fair at my current place though.” 

“Maybe you could convince your parents to get one? Then you could see it every time you visited?” Luke suggested. 

She glanced at him, considering the idea. “You might be onto something.” Julie looked around, sighing. “So Willie’s late, which means he’s probably _distracted,”_ she smirked. “So do you want to practice our bit here?” 

“What, like outside the bar?” His eyebrows shot up. 

Julie shrugged, “Why not? The beginning bit is easy, so shall we just start from _Can’t Stop The Feeling_ or…?”

“Sounds good,” Luke nodded, getting into position. “What’s the bit after the first count of eight?” 

“Oh, so it goes like this,” she spun around and demonstrated, and Luke faltered for a second, distracted by how well she picked up the choreography, and how easily she did it. “You got that?” 

He forced himself to focus, “Uhh, one more time?” 

Julie nodded, “Okay, just copy me?”


	23. What I Like About Brew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the moment you've been waiting for. well, not *the* moment, but *a* moment that you've probably been excited for since last chapter. 
> 
> yes there's a time skip between the end of last chapter and the beginning of this one. it's not specific because i'm bad at organisation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to wishful_stargazer for this chapter's title! :)

Lunch rush was long gone by the time Willie turned up to see Alex on shift.  _ Today was the day. _ It had taken months to sort out, but it was finally about to happen. He sat down on the counter with a grin instead of on the stool and greeted his boyfriend with a kiss on his forehead. “Hey,” he whispered. 

“Hey,” Alex replied, smiling at him for two seconds before swatting him off. “How many times have I told you you can't sit there?” 

“Not enough to stop me,” Willie teased, glancing around to make sure everyone was accounted for. “Why’s everyone here? What’s the occasion?” 

He shrugged, “Guess some of our friends were just hungry. Think we’re going to Eats and Beats after. You’re not working, are you?” 

“Nope,” he grinned. “All yours for the evening.” (And, if this went well, every evening after for the rest of their lives.) 

Luke arrived, pulling up in his new truck with a playlist blaring. “Check it out! Thoughts?” A random song was almost finished as everyone crowded outside to check it out. It had been his idea to introduce the music through the speakers as soon as he finally bought the truck. 

“Nice,” Julie nodded in approval. “But how’s the stereo?” 

That was Luke’s cue to put the CD in and turn the volume up, starting with  _ Sucker _ by the Jonas brothers. 

_ We go together _

_ Better than birds of a feather, you and me _

_ We change the weather, yeah _

_ I’m feeling heat in December when you’re ‘round me _

Luke jumped out of the car, walking round to the bed of the truck and climbing into it as he started singing along.  _ “I’ve been dancing on top of cars, and stumbling out of bars.” _ He held out a hand to help Julie up next to him. 

_ “I follow you through the dark, can’t get enough,”  _ she grinned, letting him twirl her as Alex laughed.  _ “You’re the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain.”  _

_ And baby, you know it’s obvious _

That was when things started to get interesting. Julie and Luke spontaneously bursting into song was nowhere near out of character, or any indicator of something else going on. But then Ky and Nick joined in with a clearly already choreographed dance. 

_ I’m a sucker for you _

_ Say the word and I’ll go anywhere blindly _

_ I’m a sucker for you, yeah _

_ Any road you take you know that you’ll find me _

Nick beckoned Ky with his finger, leading him out of the way as he sang, “ _ I’m a sucker for all the subliminal things, no one knows about you…”  _

_ “And you’re making the typical me break my typical rules,”  _ Ky grinned,  _ “It’s true, I’m a sucker for you.”  _

Willie laughed, “We’ve got some pretty talented friends.” He nudged Alex. “Cool, right?” 

“Yeah,” Alex watched him, slightly sceptical. 

The song cut off, switching midway to  _ Can’t Stop The Feeling _ by Justin Timberlake. Ky and Nick continued dancing, the choreography blending easily with the new song. To make things even more interesting, AJ appeared, pulling Reggie along with her towards the dance by his flannel and joining in with Ky and Nick seamlessly. 

_ I got this feeling inside my bones _

_ It goes electric wavy when I turn it on _

Julie and Luke started to clap along to the beat as Reggie and AJ started singing. 

_ All through my city _

_ All through my home _

Alex stared, “What is happening? Seriously,  _ what _ is happening?” It had clearly passed into not-exactly-normal territory, even for their friend group, but he wasn’t hating it. It was more confusing than anything, but it was a performance he was enjoying. 

_ We’re flying up, no ceiling, when we in our zone _

The choreo stepped up a level, slightly more intricate than before as the four of them moved in sync. 

_ I got that sunshine in my pocket _

_ Got that good soul in my feet _

_ I feel that hot blood in my body _

_ When it drops _

_ I can’t take my eyes up off it _

_ Moving so phenomenally _

_ Room on lock the way we rock it _

_ So don’t stop _

The song cut seamlessly to further on to bring them closer to the pre-chorus, and Alex couldn’t help but grin at his friends as he tapped his foot and the vocals were handed back to Julie and Luke from on top of the truck. 

_ And under the lights _

_ When everything goes _

_ Nowhere to hide when I’m getting you close _

_ When we move well you already know _

_ “So just imagine,”  _ Luke sang, jumping down and holding out a hand to Julie. 

_ “Just imagine,” _ she grinned back, landing next to him. 

_ “Just imagine…” _ the others chorused, before letting the car stereo take over with the lyrics to focus on the choreography as Julie and Luke joined in with them. 

_ Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance _

_ Feel a good, good creeping up on you so just dance, dance, dance _

_ Come on! _

_ All those things I shouldn’t do but you dance, dance, dance _

_ And ain’t nobody leaving soon  _

_ So keep dancing _

_ I can’t stop the feeling! _

_ So just dance, dance, dance _

_ I can’t stop the feeling! _

_ So just dance, dance, dance, come on! _

Before the song could reach the next verse, the track cut to the beginning of  _ Single Ladies _ , and Alex’s grin grew even wider. Willie looked sideways at him for a second, gauging his reaction to his friends starting a flash mob in the street. 

Key word:  _ starting, _ as Dirty Candi filed out from their table in the cafe and took their places at the front of the growing group of dancers. 

_ All the single ladies _

_ All the single ladies _

_ All the single ladies _

_ All the single ladies _

_ Now put your hands up! _

Of course, Alex knew this choreo by heart, and his friends executed it flawlessly. Willie knew he’d picked the right songs, giving them to Julie and Flynn to mix for the dance. Even though he’d heard it before, it marvelled him how much his friends had exceeded expectations. With Ky and Carrie partnering to work out the choreography and Luke having the last minute idea to use the bed of his truck for him and Julie. 

_ Up in club _

_ We just broke up _

_ I’m doing my own lil’ thing _

_ You decided to dip _

_ And now you wanna trip _

_ ‘Cause another brother noticed me _

_ I’m up on him _

_ He up on me _

_ Don’t pay him any attention _

_ Kept crying my tears _

_ For three good years _

_ You can’t be mad at me _

_ ‘Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it _

_ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it _

_ Don’t be mad once you see that he want it _

_ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh _

_ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh _

_ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it _

_ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it _

_ Don’t be mad once you see that he want it _

_ If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it _

_ Oh, oh, oh! _

Then  _ Paper Rings _ by Taylor Swift kicked in, and Alex started to realise what all of these songs had in common. He turned to Willie, one of the only people who hadn’t joined in the dance yet. “Did you know about this?” 

“Shhh,” Willie replied, smirking. “You’ll miss the show.”

Flynn popped up in the middle of the dance, and Alex momentarily wondered  _ how _ she’d got there without him noticing. But he might have just been too distracted by Willie to notice. The dancers parted, each striking a pose as she sang. He glanced back at Willie in disbelief before paying attention to Flynn. 

_ “Kiss me once ‘cause you know I had a long night,” _ she twirled Carrie under her arm. 

_ “Kiss me twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright,” _ the other girl sang back, as Bobby called out as he joined them. 

_ Three times ‘cause I waited my whole life _

_ One, two, one, two, three, four! _

The choreo kicked it up a notch  _ again _ and the level of difficulty increased, but that didn’t lead to any slip-ups. Alex could hear Willie quietly singing the lyrics under his breath and he interlocked their hands, smiling at him. 

_ I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings, uh-huh _

_ That’s right, darlin’, you’re the one I want _

_ And I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this _

_ Uh-huh, that’s right, darlin’ _

_ You’re the one I want _

_ Paper rings _

_ In picture frames _

_ In dirty dreams _

_ Oh-oh, you’re the one I want _

Reggie started the bridge,  _ “I want to drive away with you, I want your complications too…”  _

_ “I want your dreary Mondays, wrap your arms around me, baby boy,”  _ AJ continued. 

_ I want to drive away with you _

_ I want your complications too _

_ I want your dreary Mondays _

_ Wrap your arms around me, baby boy _

_ Uh-huh, that’s right, darlin’ _

_ You’re the one I want _

_ I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this _

_ Uh-huh, darlin’ _

_ You’re the one I want _

The music changed again and everyone started clapping in time as part of the choreography as Willie dropped Alex’s hand and shed his jacket. Alex stared in disbelief once more, watching as his boyfriend jogged towards the performance as  _ Marry You _ by Bruno Mars started. 

Oh. 

_ Oh. _

The grin on Alex’s face was almost painful as he recognised the opening notes, Carrie and Ky standing on either side of Willie as he inserted himself into the middle of the group. One of Alex’s favourite things was dancing, but something that came up way higher on that list was watching  _ Willie _ dance. 

And sing. 

Basically just watching Willie do anything.

But especially dancing and singing. 

And he was about to witness both. 

_ “It’s a beautiful night,”  _ the choreography moved them closer to Alex as Willie sang.  _ “We’re looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it that look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you.”  _

Luke watched them, filled with a sense of pride as he took the verse.  _ “Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go… no one will know, come on girl.”  _

_ “Who cares if we’re trashed, got a pocket full of cash we can blow,” _ Julie continued.  _ “Shots of Patron, and it’s on girl…”  _

They got closer during the pre-chorus, and Alex could barely believe what was happening. 

_ Don’t say no, no, no, no-no _

_ Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah _

_ And we’ll go, go, go, go-go _

_ If you’re ready, like I’m ready _

_ ‘Cause it’s a beautiful night _

Willie got down on one knee and the others parted to let them have their moment as the music continued in the background. He pulled out the ring, breathless from all the dancing. “Alexander Mercer. I love you. I want to cheer for you from the front row when you and your band go on a world tour, and I want to catch you when I try to teach you to skate and you fall off the board. I want to go to bed and wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life. Marry me?” 

He stared at him, still trying to process it. The first words out of Alex’s mouth were  _ definitely _ something to laugh about in the speeches at the wedding. “What the  _ fuck?” _ Alex continued to stare at Willie as he fumbled with the fanny pack he was wearing under his  _ Mrs Harrison’s _ apron. And he pulled out a ring box. “I have been carrying this around for  _ six months _ and you beat me to it?” 

Willie laughed, almost laughing so hard he unbalanced himself from where he was down on one knee. “Is that a yes then?” 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life,” Alex replied, pulling Willie up by his shirt collar and pressing his lips to his. 

Everyone let out a cheer, Carrie and Flynn even kissing in celebration. Luke threw an arm around Julie’s shoulders and pulled her into him to hug her from behind as she giggled, watching Alex and Willie fondly. 

When the two of them finally broke apart, Willie rested his forehead against Alex’s. “You wanna put your ring on now?”

“Only if you put on yours,” he replied, his hand moving from where it was in Willie’s hair to cup his face gently. They opened the ring boxes and exchanged engagement rings, sliding them onto each other’s fingers. “Love you.” 

“Love you too,” he cocked his head back in the direction of their friends. “Dance with me?” 

“I’m on shift,” Alex pointed out. 

“Go dance with your fiancé, Alex,” Mrs Harrison called from the doorway, grinning. “I think I’ll survive without you.” 

Willie tugged him into the centre of the group as everyone else clapped in time to the music so they could dance together. It wasn’t long before everyone else was dancing again too. No choreography this time, just having fun in the middle of the street outside the little coffee shop that changed all of their lives. 


End file.
